


Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave

by storywriter55



Series: Milestones [14]
Category: White Collar (TV 2009)
Genre: Crime, Gen, Undercover Work, little white lies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:20:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 56,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29401146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storywriter55/pseuds/storywriter55
Summary: Lies and deception. Everyone has something to hide, whether it be inconsequential or with far-reaching consequences. Part of the 'Milestones' series (8.8 years).
Relationships: Elizabeth Burke/Peter Burke, Neal Caffrey/Sara Ellis
Series: Milestones [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/80614
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Lies, fibs, half-truths, disinformation, falsehoods, inaccuracies, deceit, deflections, deceptions. 

Who hasn’t covered up some unfortunate or embarrassing situation by misrepresenting the facts or simply leaving out some vital piece of information? We can kid ourselves by calling them harmless little white lies but is that always the case?

Often, it’s just more convenient or easier not to tell the whole truth or to simply make up an alternate version of facts than to have to explain the details of something we’d just rather not share. 

Harmless?

Sometimes. 

Not always.

Honesty and integrity are at the centre of most of our relationships. So what happens to those fragile connections when we deviate from the truth and upset the delicate balance of trust which often takes so long to build and to maintain? Can the trust always be rebuilt? Or are there casualties along the way?

Some fibs may be truly harmless - like telling a friend her butt looks fine in that pair of pants or endeavouring to hold back the details of a surprise party we’re planning for a loved one. But where is that fine line? The one between truth and lie, the one between honesty and deception – the one that, if and when it’s crossed, will shatter or irreparably damage that delicate balance of trust in our relationships with the ones we love.

We might be forgiven to hold back something that might hurt someone we love but what about those lies that only serve to protect ourselves, our image, the way others will think of us or those deceptions that we profit from directly without a second thought as to how they might hurt someone else. We can always rationalize telling a lie – everyone can – and if you think about it long enough, you can always find a way to convince yourself that it’s best this way....

...which leads to the worse kind of lies – the ones we tell ourselves.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Peter**

Peter Burke loved his job. And he loved his wife. 

His life was divided into two clearly defined compartments which was a good thing, considering the type of work he did. Peter had seen a lot of the brutality and ugliness in the world throughout his years as a Special Agent for the White Collar Division of the FBI’s New York field office. He’d dealt with criminals, some ‘soft’ who could be rehabilitated over time and others, hard core who would kill you just as soon as look at you and Peter Burke did not trust easily. However, if you asked him, the man would describe himself as a very trustworthy and honest person who always sought to do the right thing.

Sure, he’d deviated from the straight and narrow over the years, skirting the edges of the law from time to time but if the end result was a fair and ethical outcome, he’d learned to be a little more lenient – especially since Neal Caffrey had made an appearance in his life. Although nowadays Neal was a trustworthy and valuable friend, it hadn’t always been that way. For years, Peter had been wary of the ex-conman, suspicious of his motivations and machinations. But deep down, his ex-CI was a good man and Peter had ventured into those grey areas on more occasions than he cared to remember – always with the justification that the end result was for the greater good. 

Overall, Peter thought of himself as a man of principle and he endeavoured to conduct himself with integrity and rectitude.

Thankfully, in contrast to his professional life, when it came to the sanctity of his home, Peter saw nothing but beauty and goodness. His relationship with his wife was rock solid and it was based on mutual trust and respect. Elizabeth Burke was an amazing woman and a terrific wife – she’d supported Peter through life’s ups and downs and he shared everything with her. Well, _almost_ everything. He’d been known to withhold some of the details of an operation when he thought it would cause her to worry. But that wasn’t really ‘lying’, it was just loving her so much he didn’t want to cause her any concern or anxiety. 

Or so he told himself.

On this November morning, they sat having breakfast at their dining room table as he prepared to go into the office. They’d just started on a big case: the Sullivans, a mob family from Miami, had recently been spotted in New York and the Bureau had had them under surveillance for the past few weeks. They traded mostly in drugs but had been known to finance their activities through the fencing of stolen art which landed their activities straight in Peter’s jurisdiction. Although there was no proof they were directly involved in any heists, they seemed to be smack dab in the middle of some unresolved thefts and some heavy duty fencing of valuable pieces from which they were clearly profiting.

Peter sipped on his coffee and looked over at his wife who was concentrated on making notes in preparation for her day as boss lady at Burke Premiere Events. God, how he loved her – every part of her: the business woman, the homemaker, the loving wife. He was more than happy to defer to her when it came to their home life; she took care of meals, their social calendar, kept tabs on upcoming birthdays and anniversaries and somehow she made everything look smooth and painless. He continued to stare, unbeknownst to his wife as she finally spoke up, reminding her husband of the important job she had tasked him with. 

‘You didn’t forget about dropping my ring off at the jewellers, right?’ she said as the thought crept back into her mind – among many other preoccupations, it seemed.

‘Got it right here’ said Peter as he tapped his jacket pocket.

‘And find out how long it’ll take before I can have it back. I feel so lost without it’ she added, as she touched her naked ring finger and frowned. The wedding ring hadn’t been cleaned since the day Peter had put it on her finger over twenty years before. It was high time to have the diamond cleaned and polished. 

He nodded, returning to his thoughts. Maybe he was going to need Neal’s expertise on this case. Although his best friend worked full time as an art authenticator at Finch and Johns, he still dabbled in some high profile cases at the Bureau when summoned – especially if art was involved. Neal still enjoyed the occasional stint, particularly if he got the chance to go undercover, something that still got his blood pumping. A phone call to his best friend was in order to see if he could get some time off work to come and play with his buddies at the Bureau Peter mused.

The Burkes parted ways and the G-man made his way to the office, stopping for coffee on the way. He had fond memories of all those years he and Neal were joined at the hip, their numerous walks to the office holding a cup of overpriced coffee in their hands as they meandered through the streets of Manhattan. He’d loved those years although he was painfully aware they’d been challenging for Neal who’d struggled to decide if he was a con or a man. Peter smiled, recalling his all important role in getting Neal to settle down to his current life as a loving husband, father and law-abiding citizen.

He arrived to find Jones and Diana already in the conference room, ready to roll on the case.

‘Anything new on the Sullivan case?’ Peter asked as he came in and took a seat at the head of the table.

‘Shawn Sullivan was observed at a meet in the Bronx last night’ said Jones as he flashed some photographs of two men making some sort of exchange.

‘The other guy is Rusty Jerome’ volunteered Diana.

‘Ah yes, Rusty…’ Peter commented as he glanced at the screen. ‘Mozzie’s old associate. Haven’t seen him around for a while.’

‘He’s been staying off the radar’ agreed Diana.

‘Looks like our guy’s got something he wants fenced’ Peter said as the photographs flashed on the screen. They watched as the fence took a package from the mobster’s hand and handed him an envelope.

‘That’s a pretty small item’ Jones said.

‘Valuable doesn’t necessarily mean large’ cautioned Diana as everyone nodded in agreement.

Peter looked up at his team. ‘I’ve been wondering if it might be worth bringing Neal in on this one.’

‘We could sure use his expertise’ agreed Jones. ‘He might be able to use his contacts to find out if there are pieces floating out there that we could tie back to the Sullivans.’

Peter nodded – his thoughts exactly. Neal didn’t travel in those circles quite as much these days but Mozzie still kept his ear to the ground and Neal still had some contacts out there.

‘I’ll give him a call later and see if he can get a few weeks off work. He’s usually up for a challenge’ said Peter, rising to return to his office. ‘In the meantime, keep up the surveillance and keep me posted.’

He glanced at his watch, realizing it was almost lunchtime and he had a fleeting thought for El as he spotted the lunch she’d lovingly prepared for him, sitting on his desk. Oh, that devilled ham sandwich was going to taste good but before he could settle down to lunch, he needed to run that errand he’d promised her he’d make. Johnson’s Jewellers was just a couple of blocks over and if he hurried, he could be back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.

‘Be back in half an hour’ he called out to his secretary on the way out.

It was a cool November day but the sun was out and Peter pulled up the collar on his jacket to keep the wind out as he began the short trek over to jewellers’. It was there he’d bought all of El’s jewelry gifts over the years, the silver bracelet he got her for their tenth wedding anniversary, the pearls he got her for her birthday a few years back, the beautiful vintage pin he’d given her last Christmas.

‘Mr. Burke, how are you?’ asked the young man behind the counter.

He was one of the sons and although Peter recognized him immediately, he couldn’t for the life of him remember his name. Henry Johnson Sr. was getting on in age and although he still made frequent visits to his store, he’d entrusted the day to day operations to his three sons and Peter knew all three of them by sight.

He hated not being able to greet people by name and he began to rake his brain to remember this young fellow’s name – Eric? Rick? – as he began to tell him about the purpose of his visit.

The young man took out a receipt and began to write down Peter’s request.

‘So, basically she just wants the ring cleaned and polished’ said Peter as he leaned on the counter.

Brick? Ricky? It was driving him nuts and short of coming out and just asking the guy for his name...

‘Okay Mr. Burke. So cleaning the ring and polishing it…Anything else I can do for you today?’ he asked as he prepared to give Peter a copy of the receipt.

‘No, that’s it’ said Peter ‘and when will that be ready.... Richie?’ he said triumphantly as he suddenly remembered the man’s name.

‘In about a week’ Richie Johnson replied with a smile.

‘Great. Well, take care, then’ said Peter as he prepared to leave.

‘Hum… Mr. Burke, aren’t you forgetting something?’ the man asked.

Peter looked at him, puzzled.

‘The ring? It’s customary to leave it with us if you want it cleaned’ he added with a touch of humour.

‘Oh, sorry’ exclaimed Peter. ‘Guess I have too much on my mind.’ (Like trying to remember your damn name!)

He reached into his jacket pocket for the ring, feeling around for it. He had wrapped it in tissue paper and he took the tissue out, carefully unwrapping it. But to his horror, there was no ring inside.

He glanced timidly at the young man, letting out a nervous chuckle as he returned his hand to his pocket to locate the precious piece of jewelry to no avail. He poked around his other pockets more and more frantically as he began to realize the ring was nowhere to be found. He returned to the bottom of the pocket where he’d found the tissue, turning the lining inside out and noticing, in horror, a small rip in the lining, just big enough for a ring to slip through. 

He could feel the blood draining from his face as he began to realize that the ring was nowhere to be found.

‘I seem to have misplaced the item’ he said, panic rising in his voice.

Shit! El was going to kill him if he’d lost her beloved wedding ring. How could this possibly happen? It was right there in his pocket when he’d left the house, of that he was certain.

He sheepishly excused himself, explaining that he would be back with the ring as soon as he could.

He walked back to the office, his mind replaying every step he’d taken since he’d put the ring in his pocket at seven o’clock that morning. Somewhere, along the way, the damn thing must have fallen out of his pocket. 

How was he going to tell El he’d lost the single most important piece of jewelry she owned, the token of their life together, the symbol of their love and commitment?

He’d find it – he’d find a way to find it but in the meantime, Elizabeth mustn’t know it was missing.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Satchmo**

What a great life, thought the dog as he stretched out on the couch in the warm sun. What more could a dog want in life but food and water nearby, a warm place to sleep and the assurance that, eventually, your master will come home, give you all the attention you crave, feed you and take you out for your daily walk to the park.

He lived a charmed life.

Of course, there were rules he was expected to obey. And he was more than happy to play the role of dutiful family pet when his masters were around. The man, especially, was a stickler when it came to the damn rules:no peeing in the house, no slobbering water all over the kitchen, no sleeping on the couch... to name but a few. But a smart dog like Satchmo knew how to circumvent those rules and he’d learned long ago that what the man didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

The lady, the soft one, she was much more of a push-over. If he wasn’t alert enough to shift his furry ass off the couch when he heard the door open, she would just give him a long-suffering sigh and murmur something like _‘Satchmo! Off the couch, boy!’_ whereas if he slept through the man’s arrival, he might be greeted by a gruff voice and an insistent shove to get him off the sofa.

For that reason, the dog always slept on the couch with one eye open; you just never knew when the humans would return or more importantly, which one of the two humans would be the first one to make an appearance.

He lazily opened his eyes, reacting to some soft muted noises coming from the street and he positioned his paws up against the back of the couch to have a look outside. Glancing out the living room window, he spotted the cute dog from next door out for her daily stroll. She was a pretty little poodle with wide eyes and an endearing way of sauntering and she always gave him a nice greeting when they crossed paths on the street or at the dog park. 

_‘Hey, cute dog girl, look up here!’_ he said as he barked.

She gave him a cursory look as she continued on her walk with her master nudging her along.

Girls could be so standoffish, Satchmo thought, as he put his head back down on the couch, trying to look like he didn’t care. 

He looked around the room, bored. It must be getting late because he could see the sun starting to set and that usually meant his masters would be home shortly. He jumped off the couch, leisurely making his way over to his water bowl and he slurped noisily as the water splashed all over the kitchen floor.He ambled over to the window looking onto the back yard and saw a couple of squirrels running around. He jumped up onto the door, pulling at the sheer curtain there and let his tail wag happily behind him as he let out a few obligatory barks. After all, you had to let squirrels know who was boss – and it sure as hell wasn’t them!

He continued to meander around the first floor, looking for mischief – or at least something to occupy his time. He was getting restless and he began to search for one of his toys which were usually scattered in different rooms of the house. He found his stuffed toy and gave it a few obligatory chews, shaking his head violently from side to side as he growled. That got boring rather quickly and he returned to searching around the place to see if he could find another more amusing activity to pass the time while he waited. Truth be told, he was starting to feel the familiar fullness of his bladder and he hoped he wouldn’t have to wait too much longer before he could relieve himself. Sometimes, his humans pushed their luck on that front, he pondered. They were damn lucky he had such a capacity for restraint and a good strong bladder.

He spotted his ball nearby, not the soft tennis ball but the hard plastic one, the one that made that great noise when it bounced on the wood floor. He ran excitedly towards the toy, his tail wagging andhe picked up the ball between his teeth, growling happily as he went. He loved this ball, it was definitely his favourite plaything.

He continued to growl as he played, dropping the ball from time to time so he could see it bounce in front of his eyes and jumping to catch it in mid-air as it flew. This was fun, he thought, as he continued to move around the living room, bouncing up and down, his long tail wagging and hitting various items as he went. He got a good firm hold of the ball and gave his head a good strong shake, feeling it between his teeth and biting down hard. Suddenly, he felt the ball fly out of his mouth with great force and he watched with interest as it hit the wall at full speed, barely missing the bookshelf laden with books and knick knacks. He ran towards the bouncing ball, hoping to catch it in mid-flight but the ball had ideas of its own as it bounced violently off the wall, heading straight for the lamp sitting on the small coffee table by the couch.

The noise it made as the ball and lamp collided took Satchmo by surprise and he looked on, powerless as he heard the loud crash of the lamp hitting the ground in a million pieces. Now, even a dog knows that things breaking usually leads to humans getting upset so he stood, motionless for a moment as he took in the mess on the floor just by the front door where his humans would be making their entrance. His tail wasn’t wagging anymore and the feeling of carefree delight he’d been experiencing a moment before disappeared instantly as he surveyed the damage.

The best solution, he realized, was to distance himself from the mess – and quickly. They would never suspect him if he was far away from the shambles when they arrived. 

Satchmo tiptoed around the broken glass and made his way upstairs to his masters’ bedroom where he often slept on the floor by the foot of the bed. He decided to lay low – surely, when they came home and found him sleeping innocently by the bed, he would never be suspected of having caused the unfortunate accident. In fact, it wasn’t him; it was the damn ball which had a mind of its own. His only crime had been to watch helplessly as the ball had flown in the air in slow motion and collided with that unsuspecting lamp.

Regardless, he’d deny it if they accused him.Deny, deny, deny.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Liam**

Liam Caffrey was a ridiculously cute three and a half year old boy. He had fair hair (downright blond in the summer), freckles which peppered his nose and bright green eyes which were the exact same shade as his mother’s.

He had a quiet intelligence, preferring to observe rather than step into the fray and he tended to wait until he was asked before expressing an opinion. This was by no means a reflection of his intelligence – in fact he was very smart and astute for his age; he just preferred to lay low and be an observer of life. He had inherited that trait from his dad who’d spent a good part of his life observing others and finding out what made them tick. Unfortunately, in his younger days, his father had used that attribute to develop successful ways of deceiving others, pulling strings as he made them see what they desperately wanted to see. 

This was by no means Liam’s motivation and his dad had always marvelled at his son’s innocence and the quiet way in which he watched the world go by, making up his mind as he went along. 

His temperament was in direct contrast to his sister whom Liam adored and who, at eight years old, was a strong, confident young lady who had no trouble formulating an opinion on just about anything. Although her looks were all her dad’s, her personality was definitely inherited from her mom – headstrong, fierce and determined, giving credence to the adage that opposites attract. 

Liam sat next to his best friend Jayden at a table in playroom as they shared the Fisher Price garage and the numerous cars and trucks that had been put out for them. The boys worked cooperatively, making roaring noises as they played, respectful of each other and staying out of each other’s way. Liam liked Jayden because he was just like him, quiet and unassuming and he enjoyed playing side by side without having to make small talk. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Caleb Holloway, the class bully. And the kid was heading their way.

‘I want to play!’ said Caleb as he grabbed one of the trucks from the table and gave Liam a shove.

‘I was here first’ said Liam, standing up for himself. He knew the rules and he wasn’t about to have to give up his spot for this little twerp.

‘I don’t care. I want the truck’ the intruder said as he grabbed the toy from Liam’s hand.

‘What’s going on over here?’ asked Miss Rosalie, their preschool teacher as she stepped into the fray.

Liam looked up and his heart skipped a beat. Miss Rosalie was possibly the prettiest girl in the world and whenever she talked to him, he became tongue tied. She had pretty blue eyes and blond hair which cascaded down her back when she pulled it into a ponytail which she did most days. She was kind and sweet and helpful and Liam just loved being in her presence. Whenever he needed help tying his shoes or doing up his pants up after using the washroom, she would be there to lend a hand. 

Of course, he hadn’t realized that Miss Rosalie was actually _Mrs._ Rosalie, a married woman who had two children of her own and a really handsome husband – but as far as fantasies went, she was all the little boy needed.

‘I want to play’ repeated Caleb loudly.

‘Well, see the little pictogram on the table’ the teacher explained patiently. ‘This play area is for two friends at a time. Now who was here first?’

‘I was’ lied Caleb.

‘I thought I saw you playing at the art table less than a minute ago’ said Miss Rosalie. She was no fool.

Caleb looked away, embarrassed to be caught in the lie.

‘When Jayden and Liam are finished, you can have a turn with the cars and trucks’ she concluded as she took the young boy’s hand and led him away.

Liam watched as Miss Rosalie walked away, her blond hair cascading over her shoulders and his mouth dropped open, staying that way as he continued to gawk. She always knew what to do, she was perfect!

By the time snack time wrapped up, Miss Rosalie invited everyone to get dressed to play outside before pick-up time. Liam and Jayden headed for their cubbies, reaching for their jackets and hats. Liam could see Caleb giving him the stink eye, no doubt still angry about the earlier incident and he turned away, attempting to zip up his jacket - which was hard to do with his stubby little three-year-old fingers.

‘Need help sweetie?’ Miss Rosalie asked as she appeared out of nowhere.

Liam nodded, a look of pure adulation on his face.

Once out on the playground, Caleb followed Liam to a corner of the yard as they jockeyed for the best toys from the large bin of sand toys laid out for the group of preschoolers.

‘My daddy says your daddy is a bad man and he robbed a museum’ Caleb said viciously as he stuck out his tongue at Liam.

Liam’s face darkened. ’That’s not true!’ he cried out, anger rising in his chest.

Caleb continued taunting him, going for the jugular. ‘Yes it is. And he went to jail!’ he spat out angrily.

Liam felt rage building inside him. If nothing else, he was fiercely loyal to his dad who, in his eyes, could do no wrong. Who did this kid think he was, denigrating the best dad in the world?

‘You’re a liar!’ he shouted angrily. 

The other child laughed, mocking him. ‘No I’m not. Your dad is a cheat and a liar. Jail, jail, jail!’

Nobody talked smack about his beloved daddy and before he knew what was happening, Liam’s hand was forming a tight fist. He took a step back and with a deliberate windup, he proceeded to plough his fist right into Caleb’s nose as the little boy let out a loud scream. Blood instantly spurted onto the grass beneath their feet.

Miss Rosalie was immediately by their side, pulling the boys apart as Caleb screamed in pain and Liam attempted to make further contact with his face.

‘Liam, Liam, stop!’ she cried out to her young charge.

The sight of blood brought on histrionics on Caleb’s part as Liam stood paralyzed, becoming acutely aware of the throbbing pain in his fist.

‘What’s gotten into you?’ the teacher asked as she struggled to keep the boys apart.

‘Sit!’ she ordered Liam, pointing to the nearby time-out chair. ‘I’ll talk to you in a minute.'

Her attention turned to the injured party, providing first aid as another teacher came to her aid. Liam had never been violent before and she suspected some provocation might be at play as she returned to Liam, crouching down to get a good look into his eyes.

‘Liam, what was that all about?’ she asked as he scowled at her. He wasn’t about to repeat the horrible things Caleb had said about his beloved dad.

To his silence, Miss Rosalie spoke again. ‘You need to sit here and think about what just happened.’

And that is where Neal found his son as he strolled in, a few minutes later to pick him up.

‘What’s going on?’ he asked the teacher as he spotted Liam, pouting in the time-out seat.

‘Hi Mr. Caffrey’ she said, stepping closer and lowering her voice. ‘I’m afraid Liam was involved in an altercation with another child.’

Neal’s smile slowly melted into a frown. His son was certainly not known as a fighter and he was eager to get to the bottom of the situation.

‘I didn’t hear what they were arguing about but Liam got mad and punched the other little boy in the face.’

‘What?’ Neal said as his jaw dropped open.

Miss Rosalie lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘The other little boy… well, he may have provoked him, I’m not sure. But we can’t tolerate aggressive behaviour of any kind. I’m sure you understand.’

Neal frowned and nodded. ‘Of course’ he said, I’ll have a talk with him.’

WCWCWC

Father and son made their way home in silence, Liam obstinately refusing to shed light on the incident despite Neal’s attempts at getting him to explain his out of character behaviour. Neal grew increasingly frustrated at his son’s refusal to come clean. Sadly, without further explanations, he and Sara would be forced to impose some consequence for his actions, something they’d seldom had to do when it came to their usually sweet and cooperative son.

‘Hi, guys’ Sara called from the kitchen when she heard them arriving.

She crouched down to welcome her son with a hug but the little guy just looked up at his dad and didn’t make a move towards her welcoming arms.

Neal glared down at him, giving him one last chance to explain. ’Are you sure you don’t have anything to say?’ he asked for the umpteenth time.

Liam shook his head, defiant.

‘Then go to your room and think about what you did and we’ll call you when dinner is ready’ he said reluctantly.

Sara stared back at her husband in surprise. She could count on one hand the number of times they’d had to scold their son, let alone punish him.

’What’s going on?’ she asked as Liam skulked away.

Neal took a seat at the kitchen table, looking defeated. ’He punched one of the kids at preschool’ he explained as Sara stared back, incredulous.

‘What? That’s not like him.’ 

Neal nodded. ’I know… Apparently, he hit him right in the nose. And he refuses to tell me why’ he said, shaking his head.

‘Why would he do something like that?’

‘The teacher said she didn’t see what happened but she did imply the other little guy is a bully.’

‘Caleb Holloway?’ Sara asked.

Neal frowned. ’Yeah, how did you know?’

‘Because he’s the class bully and he’s always picking on the other kids.’

Neal prided himself on his outstanding observation skills and his close involvement in his children’s affairs. ’How come I didn’t know that?’ he asked.

‘Because I’m the one who picks him up four days out of five’ she volunteered, helping him save face.

Neal let out a long slow breath. Regardless of any mitigating circumstances, Liam had to learn that you couldn’t resolve your problems with your fists and there needed to be consequences for his actions.

Upstairs, Liam sat on the edge of his bed as tears rolled down his face. Why had Caleb told him those horrible lies about his dad. His daddy was the absolute best. He took care of him, read to him, played games with him and was always there when Liam needed him. He wasn’t about to repeat the bad things Caleb had said and if that meant being punished, he would have to deal with it. 

His dad must never know why he’d lost his temper.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**Hope**

The blank page stared back at Hope Elllis-Caffrey as her young mind continued to race.She knew she should have studied more but she just hadn’t been able to muster up the enthusiasm to review her multiplication and division tables. She glanced over at her best friend Olivia, sitting two seats over frantically writing on her test paper. Olivia was an ace at math, contrary to Hope who mastered the languages and was top student in her art class. Although they’d studied together in preparation, they seemed to have spent more time giggling about the new boy in the class than actually getting any work done and now Hope was having regrets she hadn’t given this test the attention it deserved.

Instead, Hope had been focussed on getting some painting done back home in the studio she shared with her dad. The school district was holding an art exhibit in February and the young artist had been stockpiling her work as she prepared to be one of the featured artists. She was by far the star pupil of Mr. Swain’s art class and he’d been molding her to be the top student not only in his class but in the whole White Plains school district. 

Early on, Hope had shown outstanding instincts and the art teacher had taken her under his wing, pleased to have such incredible potential to work with. She excelled at most everything including still life, portraiture and landscapes and the teacher had had many discussions with Hope’s dad, himself an accomplished artist, about her skills and how they could both support her as she continued to evolve.

There was only one catch. In order to participate in the school district’s prestigious art show, students had to demonstrate an ability to master all other school subjects as well. If a student flunked a class, no matter what it was, they would automatically be eliminated from participating in the show. 

Hope continued to stare at the paper in front of her, her mind totally blank. She glanced briefly at the clock; only ten minutes left and she totally panicked. She looked around at her fellow students, all busy writing and figuring and her heart sank. This test was worth almost half the mark for the semester and if she failed, it would be almost impossible for her to make it up before Christmas.

‘Time’s up’ said Mrs. Hines, her third grade teacher.

‘Make sure your name is on your paper and pass it up to the front of the class’ the teacher asked as she began to collect the test papers.

Hope reluctantly put down her pencil. She was doomed.

WCWCWC

‘How did the math test go?’ Neal asked as Hope sat at the kitchen table doing homework before dinner.

‘All right’ she answered softly, pretending to be engrossed in what she was doing.

‘Good!See, I told you, hard work always pays off’ said Neal, realizing he hadn’t always felt that way.

‘So when do you get your results back?’ he continued.

‘Not sure, Daddy’ she murmured.

‘So…’ Neal said as he continued with the meal preparation. ‘Do you want to go down and paint after dinner?’

Hope put her pencil down and nodded enthusiastically. Now, _that_ was something worth getting excited about. She loved being down there in their studio, painting, drawing and just generally being with her dad. He was the best artist she’d ever seen and she loved to watch him work, learning as she went, imitating his style and trying new things. No matter what she did, he was always encouraging and supportive and she never hesitated to ask for his advice on things. She could tell he was proud of her accomplishments and she loved to see the delight in his eyes as she succeeded.

She thought of the math test and feared that delight might instantly vanish.

WCWCWC

‘Olivia, I’m in big trouble!’ exclaimed Hope as they sat in her friend’s bedroom.

She pulled out the test which had been returned to them at the end of the day and stared once again at the big fat ugly ‘F’ staring her right in the face.

‘I flunked and now I won’t be able to be in the art show’ she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

‘Let me see’ said Olivia as she put out her hand to have a look.

‘Hope, we studied this. How could you not remember your multiplication tables?’

Easy for her, thought Hope. She was an ace when it came to math, always getting the top mark in the class. The tears began to flow more freely and she let out a small sob as her friend reached over to give her an encouraging hug.

‘You can still make it up’ said Olivia. ‘The last test is worth fifty percent.’

‘I don’t even know what that means’ said Hope, sadly. Percentages were way beyond her realm of comprehension.

‘Look, show me all your math tests so far’ said her friend.

Hope rooted through her school bag, pulling out all the tests they’d had in math since the beginning of the school year – all five of them – as Olivia took out her calculator and began to add things up.

‘See?If you get eighty percent on your final test, you’ll end up with a passing grade’ she explained patiently to her friend, showing her the numbers which looked like Latin to Hope.

‘Are you sure?’ she asked, wiping her eyes.

‘Yes, I’m sure. But you really have to work hard between now and Christmas’ Olivia said reassuringly. ‘I can help you.’

Hope smiled through her tears; maybe there was still hope for her. She turned her mind to a more immediate problem - telling her parents about her mark and having them sign off on the test.

‘What am I going to do about my parents? They’re going to kill me’ she said imagining the disappointment in their eyes, especially her dad’s who was really looking forward to cheering her on at the art exhibition.

Olivia got a naughty glint in her eye as she glanced at Hope’s previous tests. A sneaky idea was beginning to form as she examined the signature at the top of the page. If this was what it took to keep her best friend from falling apart, it was well worth it.

She took out a piece of paper and began to practice the ‘NC’ she had spotted on the top of Hope’s last test. Parents were required to sign off on each test in order to be fully apprised of their children’s progress and, like most parents, Neal and Sara were very involved in their daughter’s performance at school – especially in math where she was struggling.

Hope watched in horror as her friend continued to imitate the ex-forger’s signature – an irony that was totally lost on her.

‘I don’t know...’ she said as Olivia kept working.

‘Do you want your parents to see this test?’ asked Olivia.

‘No!’ replied Hope, horrified.

‘Well, I can’t think of anything else we can do’ she said as she stuck her tongue out, struggling with her latest effort at falsifying Neal’s signature.

‘That looks pretty good’ acknowledged Hope as she checked out Olivia’s last attempt.

Olivia took a deep breath and steadied her hand as she took the test paper in her hand, signing with a flourish and handing it back to her best friend to be studied.

‘Wow! You’re good at this’ Hope conceded as she examined the falsified signature.

Olivia Mason, forger extraordinaire, gave her a casual shrug and smiled.

WCWCWC

‘So how did you do on that math test?’ asked Sara as she busied herself around the kitchen trying to get dinner going.

Neal was working late and she’d had to pick up both kids and get dinner started. She thanked her lucky stars that she wasn’t a single parent and she had a brief flash of admiration for all those moms and dads who raised kids on their own.

‘Good’ said Hope as she pretended to read.

‘What did you get?’ her mom asked as she hurried to the refrigerator to grab some celery.

‘A _‘B’_ Hope lied, without hesitation. She’d been practicing saying that in the mirror for a couple of days in preparation for the inevitable question.

‘Wow! Fantastic! Here, let me sign it for you’ Sara said enthusiastically.

‘It’s okay, Daddy already signed it last night’ the young girl fibbed as her mom stood there waiting.

‘Well, let me look at it’ Sara said, her eyes excited about her daughter’s success.

Hope pretended to start looking for the test in her school backpack when they were interrupted by a voice coming from the front of the house.

‘Mommy! I need you!’ Liam cried out from the powder room by the front door.

‘Hold on, honey’ Sara said to Hope. ‘I’ll be right back’ she added as she dropped everything to rescue her son who was no doubt struggling with getting his pants done up after using the toilet.

She returned a few seconds later, looking even more flustered than before as she glanced at the clock, realizing she needed to get a move-on in order to get the meal on the table.

‘Mommy, I’m hungry’ whined Liam as he tugged on her skirt.

‘Right, now where was I?’ said Sara as she grabbed for a knife and began chopping the celery she had just taken out of the refrigerator.

Hope let out a sigh, grateful for her mom’s fleeting absent-mindedness and short attention span and she pretended to return to her book.

And that was the first time Hope Ellis-Caffrey lied to her parents.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**Neal**

Life was good for Neal George Caffrey – in fact, it had been absolutely _great_ for the past ten years.The ex-con had been lucky in life; despite a rough childhood and a stint in prison, he had escaped relatively unscathed considering all his misdeeds and he was eternally grateful that his life had taken the unexpected turn it had the day he’d met Peter Burke.

Neal had grown up mostly on his own. At three years of age, following his father’s arrest, he and his mom had been placed in the Federal Witness Protection program where life had taken a dark turn. With his mom sinking into depression, Neal had begun to roam with the wrong crowd, eventually hanging out in pool halls with hustlers, learning much more than he ever should know about life on the wrong side of the tracks. He was talented, had an affable personality, the gift of the gab and had been blessed with startling good looks. Unfortunately, all his attributes had made for an easy slide down the path of delinquency and inevitably, criminal behaviour. 

The rush he got from the criminal life could not be understated and when he landed in New York at the tender age of eighteen, he’d easily been seduced by the criminal element, the stakes rising gradually until he was forging bank bonds and stealing paintings which he fenced at great profit. Why stop when things were going so swimmingly? He’d hooked up with Mozzie who’d immediately seen the brilliance of his protégé and taught him the ropes, giving him the contacts and the means to fully profit from his many gifts.

Neal sat in his office at Finch and Johns, gazing around his surroundings with a sense of astonishment.Although his life was settled and had been for a number of years, he still had moments of consternation as he thought of the amazing and fulfilling life he was now living. He had a beautiful wife, two amazing children whom he adored and doted on incessantly and a job he loved where he could appreciate the many pieces of art he’d felt compelled to steal and forge in the past. It had taken an awful long time to realize what he really wanted out of life but he was settled now and he thought long and hard about any actions he might take that would put it all at risk.

Neal had spent more than half of his adult life conning others, lying to them, deflecting the truth, manipulating situations in order to gain the upper hand. Learning to be honest and transparent had been a long and slow process but the benefits of his hard earned transformation had been worth it.Nowadays, he kept nothing – well almost nothing – from his wife. She was a force to be reckoned with and he hated to think of what might happen if she ever found him lying or trying to deceive her. Of course, old habits died hard and Neal was still selective about what he told Sara Ellis although these days his motivations were mostly pure and limited to deflections that would keep her from worrying needlessly or to secrets related to the many surprises he took pleasure in springing on her.

He opened his briefcase, reaching mindlessly for a pad of paper when the oh so familiar item floated out of his case and down onto the floor by his feet. He stared in disbelief at the small bright orange piece of paper folded perfectly as only one person other than himself could accomplish. He bent down to pick it up off the floor, surreptitiously glancing around at who might be looking. He hadn’t seen an origami bird in over ten years and he knew instantly who had sent it. How she had managed to get it into his briefcase undetected was something else but then again, Alex Hunter always found a way to get what she wanted.

‘Joyce!’ Neal called out to his assistant.

‘Yeah’ she responded as she popped her head into his office.

‘Was there anyone around this morning while I was in my meeting?’ he asked, trying his best to sound casual.

‘Hum…’ she said as her face contorted. ‘I don’t think so... Oh wait a minute, there _was_ a woman who was looking for you and I found her in my office when I came back from my coffee break.’

Now she had his full attention. ’Did she say what she wanted?’ he asked.

‘No, just that she’d find you or something like that.’

Neal nodded in response. 

What the hell was Alex doing back in New York? The last he’d heard, following a lengthy jail sentence in Spain, she’d been in touch with Mozzie to say she was ‘touring’ Europe. But that had to be four or five years ago. Whatever she wanted couldn’t be good – his only dealings with Alex were ‘shady’ ones and in the past, she’d always found a way of pulling him in to whatever she was cooking up. This time, he didn’t want to have anything to do with anything that had to do with Alex and he resolved to make that very clear if and when she showed up. 

He tried in vain to get back to work as he thought about the lady thief from his past. They’d had a lot of good times together, planning heists and pulling them off and, although their brief romantic liaison was long forgotten, he still had fond memories of their time together. The woman had amazing instincts and an unparalleled criminal mind and he knew that it would take an awful lot for the likes of Alex Hunter to leave the ‘life’ behind. As a matter of fact, he couldn’t imagine her ever going straight.

He thought of Sara and how she would react if she knew Alex was back in the picture. She’d been quick to blame Alex for being a poor influence on Neal back in the day. Neal was a sucker for a beautiful woman and even though there were no lingering romantic feelings towards Alex, he had difficulty saying no to her, especially when she got all dewey-eyed and begged for his help.

No. Sara mustn’t find out Alex was in New York. That would just upset her and worry her. For the time being, he needed to keep his discovery to himself or risk the wrath of Sara who still worried, although increasingly less as the years went by, that Neal might falter and give in to his criminal instincts.

He packed up for the day and headed out on foot to catch his train. He was halfway there when he spotted her coming towards him on the busy Manhattan street, despite the dark glasses and the hat covering most of her face. He’d recognize that walk anywhere and he watched with interest as he saw her bump into an unsuspecting mark on the sidewalk, lifting his wallet without him being the wiser. He shook his head – partly in exasperation and somewhat in admiration. She could still pull that off better than anyone else he knew. Besides himself, of course.

‘Alex’ he said, without emotion as their paths finally crossed.

‘Neal! I see you got my message’ she said, a warm smile on her face.

Neal kept walking as she fell into step with him. This couldn’t be good.

‘What are you doing back in New York Alex? The last I heard you were having the time of your life zigzagging Europe’ he said, without slowing the pace.

‘Well, things happen... and I have some business here in New York’ she replied, flashing an innocent smile.

Neal stopped momentarily to face her. He needed to put things straight before it went any further.

‘I guess Mozzie told you I’ve gone straight’ he said and even as he said it, it kind of stuck in his throat, a brief, fleeting regret for his past life. Seeing Alex again conjured up all the thrill and excitement of his old life as he momentarily pushed away any thoughts of restraint.

‘How’s the family and how’s your little wifey’ asked Alex, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

‘Sara is great thank you, and before you ask, I’m very happy’ Neal answered decisively.

‘I hear you two have actually procreated’ she continued sardonically.

Neal raised his eyebrows in reply. ‘We have two wonderful children and to be honest, I’m really not interested in this little game of ‘ _what’s new in your life’’_ he replied as he resumed walking.

‘C’mon Neal’ she said, her voice suddenly growing urgent.

He glanced at her as she removed her sunglasses, revealing a worried look he’d seldom seen in her eyes.

‘I’m in a bit of trouble and I could really use your help’ she finally admitted.

‘Sorry Alex. No way. I’m not interested’ he replied, quickening the pace.

‘Neal, please, just listen’ she pleaded as she took hold of his arm in an effort to get him to stop and look at her.

It worked. Neal turned once again to face her.

‘Alex, whatever trouble you’ve gotten yourself into, you’re going to have to find a way to get yourself out. I’m not going anywhere near any jobs that can land me in jail. Been there, done that’ he said, his voice strong.

‘Neal, I’ve got people after me’ she said, her voice suddenly shaky. ‘And if I don’t deliver some... merchandise...’ she said, letting the words hang in the air.

‘No! Stop Alex. Look, I’m sorry you’re in trouble but I can’t put my life on the line for your problems.Take care’ Neal said with determination as he finally broke eye contact and turned to leave.

With those final words, he picked up the pace, leaving her behind on the sidewalk looking forlorn. He only looked back once.

WCWCWC

Neal made his way to the bedroom noticing Sara lying there, immersed in a book on French post-impressionism. He began to undress, emptying out his pant and jacket pockets as he always did, placing the various sundry items he found there on the top of his chest of drawers – some loose change, a receipt from the coffee he’d purchased that morning, one of Hope’s barrettes (the joys of being a dad). Finally, he felt an unfamiliar object in the bottom of his left pant pocket and he frowned as he realized it was another origami bird, this one bright pink. He palmed it, making his way to the bathroom before allowing himself to examine it. 

Inside, a second message from Alex. _‘Please Neal. I’m begging you. Madison and 46 th tomorrow at noon.’_

He sighed, tucking the note away as he made his way to bed and curled up against his wife. He gave her a dutiful kiss on the forehead as she nestled in his arms, his mind still in overdrive. She reached out to squeeze him, letting out a moan as her lips moved to find his and morphed into a lingering kiss.

‘Caffrey…’ she murmured as she slipped her tongue firmly in his ear, her breath warm and tantalizing as she whispered a very interesting – and rather obscene – proposition. 

Generally speaking, he loved Sara’s tongue in his ear but he just couldn’t seem to shake thoughts of Alex begging him for his help. He pulled away, looking into Sara’s eyes in the darkened room. He responded to her kiss with one of his own, determined to shake the image of Alex looking so forlorn but the thought of his ex-partner in crime lingered in his jumbled mind, acting as a definite buzzkill.

He pulled away. ‘Honey I’m sorry, I’ve got this mammoth headache’ he whispered in his previously retired conman voice. 

Sara gave him a pure, innocent look of empathy. ‘Awww, I’m sorry sweetie’ she said as she settled back in his arms, abandoning all further thoughts of seduction.

Neal exhaled, feeling like a chump. Sara mustn’t find out about Alex. She would absolutely flip if she knew the woman from Neal’s past had made an appearance. This was one of those rare times he _had to_ keep things to himself.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

**Sara** ****

Sara studied the menu as she waited for her lunch partner to arrive. She didn’t often take time for lunch on weekdays but it had been weeks since she and Elizabeth had been able to find any ‘girl’ time and she was really looking forward to spending some quality time with her best friend before returning to the mess that was waiting for her at the office. One of her underlings had dropped the ball on the recovery of a lesser known but still very valuable Gauguin and Sara had spent the morning talking to her client on the phone, trying to put a positive spin on the disastrous recovery attempt and regretfully informing the very stuck-up and high maintenance Mrs. Goodwin that her painting was probably gone forever. 

She returned to the menu, tempted by the grilled cheese with brie and pears although she realized she really should avoid carbs altogether – they seemed to make her bloat like a beach ball lately. She thought back to Neal’s rebuke from the night before. Surely, she was reading too much into it, he’d probably just had a headache, like he’d said. On the other hand, they hadn’t had sex in almost a week and her very best move (the always winning _‘tongue in the ear while whispering a very naughty proposition’_ ) had failed miserably as they’d lay in bed the night before. 

Sara had turned forty just a week earlier and this one had hit hard, leaving her to question whether or not she was still attractive to her husband who by all accounts was still a hot, sexy man despite being five years her senior. Maybe she was getting past her sell-by date she reflected as she returned to the menu, finally deciding on an Asian salad without dressing. She mustn’t give up. She had to keep fighting even if, after two babies, her body _was_ beginning to sag and droop in all the wrong places. Not that Neal had ever complained – ever – but her confidence was shaken and she needed to get herself back to that poised and self-assured place she knew had always been a turn-on for her husband.

Elizabeth appeared in her field of vision, coming around the corner and Sara gave her a small wave as she walked past her in the window front. El seemed preoccupied these days. Everyone had worries and wasn’t that what friends were for? Sharing the good and the bad and getting some well-intentioned if not always solicited advice.

‘Hi Sara. Sorry, I guess time got away from me’ Elizabeth said as she breezed in, hugging her friend briefly before taking a seat across from her.

‘That’s okay. I’ve only been here a couple of minutes’ Sara replied as she handed her friend a copy of the menu.

Elizabeth waved her hand dismissively. ‘It’s okay, I know what I’m having – they have this amazing grilled brie sandwich with pears here.’

Sara sighed. It shouldn’t be this hard to keep your love life fresh and exciting.

They sat, enjoying their sandwiches and café au lait and had been chatting about everything and anything when Sara finally got the nerve up to bring up the subject. She and Elizabeth shared a lot but they’d never been big on discussing the details of their sex lives although it was obvious to all four of them that there were no issues in that department for either couple. Sara and Neal were presumed to be pretty hot in the sack if one took the time to observe their playful interactions. They were what one might describe as a touchy-feely couple, especially Neal who never missed an opportunity to make physical contact with his wife, ever so discreetly (or so he thought) whenever they were in the same room. The way Sara’s eyes lingered on her husband’s body – more precisely his amazing tush – when she thought no one was looking was another dead giveaway and El had always envied them the spontaneity of their wayward touches and smouldering gazes. She was married to Agent Peter Burke and although she had absolutely no complaints about their life in the boudoir, he was much more reserved when it came to public displays of affection and El had adapted to Peter’s style over the years.

‘You and Peter...’ Sara began tentatively. ‘Are things still... good... for the two of you?’

‘You mean in the bedroom?’ asked Elizabeth as she took a bite of pear.

‘Yeah, I mean, have things changed over the years?’ Sara prodded.

‘I’m assuming you’re asking because you have a specific concern and not because you suddenly want me to start giving you details about our sex life’ El said as she put down her fork in order to give Sara her full attention.

‘Well, Neal and I... it’s good, I mean I’d qualify it as _very_ good but lately it’s just gotten a little bit more... you know... routine’ she finally said, slightly embarrassed.

‘Well, things change over time. Our bodies change… we get busy. And you guys have two young kids, that’s tiring and I’m sure you don’t always feel like being spontaneous and having a wild night of passion when you know you have to be up at six in the morning to make lunches.’

‘I guess. Maybe it’s just this last birthday… it kind of hit me pretty hard. And Neal… well, he’s still the hottest guy I’ve ever met and he could make anyone sit up and take notice’ Sara admitted rather sheepishly.

‘Hello?’ Elizabeth interrupted. ‘Have you looked in the mirror lately. Besides, Neal only has eyes for you.’

‘I guess... for now’ Sara said, disheartened.

‘Sara Ellis! What’s gotten into you? You are one of the sexiest, most confident woman I’ve ever met and believe me, your husband knows that too!’ said Elizabeth, setting her straight.

‘I wasn’t fishing for a compliment El. I mean it, maybe it’s time to shake things up. Neal actually turned me down last night – and I was using one of my best moves.'

‘Did you ask him if he had something on his mind?’ asked El, always the helpful friend. ‘Peter always gets that way when he’s working a big case. Sometimes it feels really crowded in our bed.’

Sara chuckled. ’I didn’t pursue it’ she admitted. ‘I just turned over and moped.’

‘Sara, believe me when I say I really don’t think you have anything to worry about. But you know, every marriage can use a little spicing up.’

Sara’s face perked up. ’Like what?’ 

‘I don’t know... take some dance lessons together or go out for an evening on the town. Peter and I would be glad to take the kids if you want to stay out for the night. I remember you telling me about that night you spent at the Ritz after Hope was born. You were actually blushing when you came back.’

‘That was different. First off, it was over eight years ago and Hope was just a baby...’ Sara began.

‘Sara, it’s the same thing. Your sex life isn’t going to be off the charts every single time but there are ways to make things… a little more interesting if you really want to. Stephanie, at my office took pole dancing lessons and she tells me that her husband begs her to dance for him every chance he gets.She swears by it’ El confided.

‘Pole dancing?’ Sara repeated, her face scrunched up like a question mark.

‘Yeah, why not? It’s fun and it shakes things up’ El said as the waitress returned with their bill. ‘And apparently, it’s a great cardio-vascular workout.’

‘Yeah, right!’ Sara said sarcastically. ‘As if.’

Elizabeth looked at her friend, eyebrows raised. ‘You’ll never know if you don’t try’ she said.

The women parted ways out on the street in front of the café, vowing to get together on the following weekend for a bit of shopping and Sara made her way back to Sterling Bosch where she was met by her assistant, Jenny, who had eagerly been awaiting her return.

‘Mr. Bosch wants to see you at three o’clock’ she said, handing her a note.

‘I’m sure he does’ said Sara dismissively as her mind returned to the mess she needed to clean up.

He likely wanted to rake her over the coals over the failed recovery and she had to find a way to put a positive spin on things without totally destroying her underling whom she liked quite a bit. Young Lydia Wilson had excellent instincts. As a matter of fact, she reminded Sara of herself when she was that age – headstrong, eager and hard-working. Sure, she had shown a lack of judgement in this case but Sara had no doubt the young woman would learn from her mistakes. As her boss, Sara had to walk the fine line between berating her and totally destroying her motivation and enthusiasm.

She sat down at her computer to catch up on e-mails and without warning, her fingers found themselves typing the words ‘pole dancing classes’ on the Google search engine. She was intrigued by the many hits she got. There were classes all over the place including one in good old White Plains, in her very own back yard. She began to read about the merits of the course – they touted its cardio-vascular benefits, improvement in flexibility and mobility as well as enhanced muscle tone. There was a passing reference to the contribution such training might bring to your love life, but it didn’t seem to be the main selling point of the classes.

Imagining herself doing a sexy pole dance before an appreciative Neal brought an embarrassed flush to her cheeks. Her husband had always been rather adventurous in the bedroom and no doubt he’d appreciate the effort but she had difficulty imagining him lying there watching her squirm and jiggle with a straight face – his or hers.Still, it could be fun...

She smiled as she recalled the night Neal had eaten cheesecake off her pregnant belly, the time they actually got it on in an elevator and the less than stellar attempt they’d made at having sex in the washroom of a high end restaurant while Elizabeth and Peter waited patiently at their table. He sure had his moments and he’d probably think this new venture was a hoot. 

Why was she having such doubts about herself? Was it the age thing? Sara knew better than to let herself be defined by something as arbitrary as a number and she scrolled down to the bottom of the webpage to get information on class times and dates. Before she had a chance to change her mind, she filled out her personal information and was grabbing for her purse to get her credit card number. If she thought too much about it, she would chicken out and Sara was nothing if not decisive and determined once she committed to doing something. 

Neal couldn’t know, though. 

The fun would be in surprising him and watching the sparks fly as he was rendered speechless at the sight of her writhing on a pole. Just for him. Maybe she’d get a really sexy leather outfit – Neal liked leather...

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**Elizabeth/Mozzie**

Being a wife and social coordinator in her own home was all very gratifying but Elizabeth Burke was the kind of woman who’d always wanted just a little bit more out of life. So it had been no surprise to her husband when she’d decided to put her many outstanding skills and boundless energy towards setting up her own business. There had never been any doubt that any venture headed by Elizabeth Burke would make good use her amazing sense of style, her outstanding people skills and her proficiency at planning and coordination. Her skill set had led her to what seemed like a very natural conclusion.

And thus was born Burke Premiere Events. 

In some ways, this was her baby. Peter and El had never been blessed with children, something she had grieved for many years before deciding to stop her moaning and create something that was to her image, a reflection of who she was. Oh, there was no doubt Elizabeth would have been an amazing mother and that had certainly been part of her life plan but when reality hit and she and Peter were unable to conceive, she’d turned her attention and energy towards building a company she could be proud of. 

And proud she was. 

She’d virtually done this all on her own with a little help from the bank and unwavering support from her loving husband. But make no mistake about it, Burke Premiere Events was all Elizabeth. She ran it by herself with very little help except for a couple of employees she had carefully groomed to bring her vision to life. They were a highly skilled team, all strong women who shared pride in a job well done. There was Yvonne Mackenzie, who had been with her since she’d set up shop, Stephanie Harris who had joined the team five years later and her latest employee, Sophie Smithson who had come along the following year. Together, they were a force to be reckoned with and their combined skill set made for success everywhere they went. Their reputation was stellar and for years they had happily existed from one happy customer to the next as word got out that Burke Premiere Events was the place to go for your next major gathering be it business or pleasure.

The small operation had been successful beyond belief up until the moment the economy tanked and companies had started to pull back on those big, flashy events they’d been known to host in more affluent times. Business events had always been their bread and butter and the income from those events had allowed Burke Premiere Events to charge more modest prices to their customers planning family gatherings, weddings, bar mitzvahs and the like. 

Although Elizabeth took pride in seeing every single one of her customers satisfied, there was something about those private, family gatherings that made her heart swell and they had always been her very favourite events to cater. There was nothing like seeing a bride beaming on her wedding day or a gathering of four generations to celebrate the matriarch’s 100th birthday. Those events tugged at your heartstrings and Elizabeth enjoyed watching everyone present walk away with unforgettable memories – memories she had helped to create.

So, when times had gotten though financially and she knew she had exhausted her credit at the bank, Elizabeth had turned to her friend Mozzie for help. This was _her_ company and she was determined to use her own, personal contacts to make it a success. Luckily, Mozzie was well connected and he had put her in touch with a ‘business’ acquaintance of his who had been more than happy to put up a loan to carry her through the rough patch.

Only the rough patch had been going on for over three years now, with no relief in sight.

Elizabeth Burke had a multitude of skills. Unfortunately, keeping on top of her finances was not one of them. Although her husband would have been happy to lend a helping hand, Elizabeth had never involved him in her business and she’d promised herself she never would. After all, did Peter ever consult her on how he should carry out a take-down or how he should go about questioning a suspect? Of course not. And she would never ask him if a garden theme was the way to go or if they should use gold or red as a backdrop.

She sat at her desk, running her hands through her hair as she took in the numbers on the spreadsheet in front of her. They were exponentially worse than they had been just three months earlier when she’d last done a financial check and El rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing the bottom line clearly - a loss of $47,300 over the past three months of operation. El had known for a while that she would have to let one of her staff go but she’d opted for burying her head in the sand rather than cut anybody loose. Sophie was expecting a baby and as a single mom, she needed to keep working in the worse way, Stephanie’s husband had recently lost his job and Yvonne, well, she’d been with her since day one, standing steadfast by her side through thick and thin. She’d been unable to terminate any of their employments and here was the result, staring her right in the face.

For the first time since Mozzie had stepped in to save the day, Elizabeth realized she would be unable to make her monthly payment to her benefactor and she let out a soft gasp at the realization. The bank would never loan her money when she’d made such a mess of her finances and her options were limited. She certainly wasn’t going to let Peter know about the hole she’d dug for herself. She thought of Eddie (no last name), Mozzie’s associate. He seemed reasonable enough... all she had to do was come clean, surely he’d cut her some slack until she could get back on her feet.

WCWCWC

The little bell at the door to the small storefront operation chimed announcing a couple of visitors and Elizabeth straightened out her skirt as she prepared to welcome them in style. The small space they occupied was set up with a variety of table settings, backdrop decorations and sundry knick knacks, just a small sampling of how great your event could look should you choose the services of Burke Premiere Events. It was a modest little storefront operation but all the same Elizabeth Burke was proud to call it hers.

She made her way to greet the new arrivals, certainly not the usual type. Two burly men, dressed rather shabbily stood by the door, looking around and Elizabeth suddenly regretted having sent all her staff out to lunch at the same time leaving her all alone. She immediately felt uneasy and she thought of all the tricks she’d learned over the years being married to a naturally suspicious FBI agent as she walked confidently towards the door where the two men had taken a few steps inside and were glancing around the open space.

‘Good afternoon, gentlemen’ she said, her voice confident as she stepped up, positioning herself near the door to the shop.

Not that there was much to steal here but Peter had always taught her to stand between the door and any person she felt uncomfortable with, allowing for a quick exit if need be.

‘Whatever’ said the first man, his voice gruff.

‘We’re looking for Elizabeth Burke’ said the second man as he leered at her, taking her in from the top of her head to her very stylish high heel shoes.

‘Well, you’ve found her’ El said, cheerfully. ‘How can I help you?’

The second man, the leerer, took a few steps, getting uncomfortably close to invading her personal space and Elizabeth took a tentative step back as he stared at her, unblinking.

‘We’re friends of Eddie’s’ he said, his disgusting breath right up in her face.

‘Oh, I see’ she said, unsure what other response was expected.

‘He sent us over to pick up his money’ said the second man, closing in.

‘Well, actually, I was hoping I could have a meeting with Eddie’ said Elizabeth, suddenly feeling apprehensive.

‘No meeting’ said the creepy guy. ‘Just the money.’

‘Well, I .... I don’t have anything for him today but I could see what I could do...’ she began as the man crept even closer to her, almost pushing her up against the door.

The second man came right up to her face, taking his filthy hand and placing it on El’s cheek and making her squirm as he spoke.

‘Eddie is _not_ a very patient man’ he said, leaving no room for interpretation. ‘We’ll be back tomorrow for _some form_ of payment.’

Elizabeth tried to keep it together even though her legs were shaking underneath her and she could feel her hands getting wet and clammy. She nodded in agreement – anything to get these animals out of her store.

‘Enjoy your day’ said the second man as he walked past her, grabbing some candy from a nearby dish and following his partner out of the door.

As she heard the door close, Elizabeth let go of the breath she’d been holding. She felt like she had just re-enacted a scene from some gangster movie with James Cagney breathing down her neck.

How the hell had she gotten herself into this mess? And more importantly, how was she going to get herself out?

WCWCWC

‘Mozzie, please call me back. It’s an emergency’ Elizabeth said into her phone, her voice frantic.

She was in much deeper than she could possibly imagine and although Peter was the logical person to turn to, she refused to entertain that option. First off, she hadn’t been forthcoming about the company’s financial situation, figuring she could turn things around in short order. And secondly, Peter would be so disappointed if he found out how badly she’s messed up, he, who had always been go proud of his wife’s accomplishments and touted her success at every turn. If he found out, he’d likely come out with all guns blazing at these thugs whom El had inadvertently invited into her life by agreeing to take their money. He would want to rescue her by giving her the necessary cash to get her out of her present quandary.

No way. 

Peter must never know. 

She would find a way out of this mess and she would do it all by herself.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Neal sat in the conference room of the White Collar Unit, sipping on some FBI slush as he waited patiently for the rest of the crew to assemble around the table. Peter had come looking for him, claiming to need his help on their latest case. According to his ex-handler, it was custom made for Neal who would be more than helpful in providing insight into the mindset of the Sullivan family as they pillaged local museums in search of valuable art they could fence – all in aid of their booming drug trade. 

Peter had been vague about the role Neal might be called upon to play and he secretly hoped he might be sent undercover, something that still got his blood pumping despite the risks involved. Of course, these days, the decision to go undercover was made in consultation with Sara who weighed in on the risks involved to both Neal and their family. He still recalled the case about three years earlier that had spilled over into their home life when a thug had shown up at their house looking for his alter ego as Sara stood there with baby Liam in her arms. That had been a little too close for comfort and nowadays, the couple took the time to discuss the risks for both Neal and their family before he committed to any job with the Bureau.

It was nice to be back in his old stomping grounds, strange yet so familiar. Neal leaned back in his chair, peeking into Peter’s office where he could see him futzing around, moving papers on his desk. The man was looking downright anxious, not his usual state of mind. Neal set his coffee down and stood in the doorway to his office.

‘Everything okay in there?’ he asked.

‘Yeah, yeah, sorry I’ll be right in’ said Peter, assembling his documents.

‘I thought you said the meeting was at 9:00?’

Peter glanced at his watch. ’It is’ he said with a frown. ‘It’s only five to.’

Neal nodded and sighed. He’d always been known for his punctuality although since he’d become a dad, it had become more challenging to remain on schedule. On this particular morning however, he’d been lying awake since four in the morning watching Sara sleep and mulling over what to do about Alex’s invitation to meet with him at noon. He was torn. He really didn’t need this complication in his life and he knew without a doubt that Alex’s presence always led to complications. Her arrival on the scene had already messed with his sex life and he hated having to keep anything from his wife although this was definitely something he needed to keep to himself. At least for the time being.

It had taken Sara a long time to forgive and forget Neal’s last deception which had taken place just after Liam was born. An old girlfriend of his had resurfaced, compliments of Matthew Keller. She’d been paid off by his old nemesis to try to break up the fragile couple at a time when Sara had been suffering from postpartum depression. The fallout from Neal’s lack of transparency had taken its toll on them as a couple and he certainly didn’t want a repeat of that situation.

And Alex… well, she’d always been a sore spot for Sara who thought she was nothing but trouble and would lead Neal down a very dangerous path. Although not the jealous type, he knew she still bristled when she recalled that day she’d found Neal sucking face with the woman at the dry docks during the Adler debacle. But the truth was that Alex had had his back on so many occasions over the years and although he didn’t owe her anything, he still felt compelled to hear her out and see if he could help her - without stepping over that fine line into criminality. 

Neal loved his wife and kids and had no doubt his life was exactly what he wanted it to be but he couldn’t deny the excitement he still felt as he thought of his shenanigans during his indiscriminate youth. Seeing Alex again brought back memories of a carefree time where the risks were high and the payoffs even higher.

Peter’s voice was heard, breaking the silence and bringing Neal back to the here and now. ‘So, did you get a chance to read the case file?’

‘Yeah’ Neal replied as he opened the file folder on the table in front of him ‘The Sullivans have been kicking around Miami for at least twenty years. I’ve certainly heard of their exploits – they were rumoured to be behind the high profile theft of that Chagall in ’99.’

‘Well, it was never seen again’ Peter commented. 

Diana and Jones ambled in followed by the rest of the Harvard crew and Peter officially welcomed Neal to the operation, outlining what they knew from the surveillance footage they had managed to get since the Sullivan clan’s arrival in New York.

‘We’ve heard they’re in the market for some manpower to lift some pieces from local museums.They’ve been spotted scoping out the Brooklyn Museum and the Dahesh and they’ve been asking around about local talent’ Peter explained.

He turned to look at Neal, playing to his vanity. ‘And we all know we are in the presence of one of the – ahem – greats’ he added reluctantly.

Although he hated praising Neal for his past misdeeds, there was no denying the fact that Neal Caffrey had been one of the most brilliant and talented art thieves and forgers of his generation – on _both_ sides of the ocean. Neal smiled modestly although he was feeling anything but modest at Peter’s recognition of his by-gone feats.

‘So…’ Peter said. ‘I’m wondering if we shouldn’t make Neal’s services available to them and follow the trail.’

Neal felt excitement growing in the pit of his stomach. The opportunity of being involved in some high profile thefts without any risk of getting caught made his blood pump faster.

‘We could get them on theft but what about the drug charges?’ asked Jones.

‘For now, that’s really not our concern’ replied Peter. ‘Once we get them on theft and fencing of stolen goods, we can hand them over to the DOJ to investigate the drug charges.’

‘What do you say Neal?’ he asked his ex-partner.

The smile on the younger man’s face told him all he needed to know. ‘I’ll run it by Sara but… yeah, sounds like a plan.’

‘Diana…’ Peter continued. ‘Make sure we have a solid background for Neal.’

‘Will do’ she said as she smiled at the ex-CI.

‘And Neal… just stand by and let us get you set up and then we’ll put the word out that you’re back on the market.’

Neal nodded and looked around the room. ‘Just like old times!’

WCWCWC

Elizabeth paced between the kitchen and living room, stopping every few seconds to glance out the window at both ends of the house as she lay in wait for Mozzie. What the hell was taking him so long to respond to her SOS?

She’d managed to get through the rest of the previous day without alarming her staff – although Yvonne had come in to check on her on three separate occasions as Elizabeth continued to hide out in her small office. Once home, she’d somehow managed to avoid Peter who looked immersed in his own little world – no doubt the case he was working on. But sleep never came and she’d lay in bed all night staring at the ceiling and going over several potential scenarios including the scary thought of finding her business burned to the ground or waking up to find the two men hovering over her as she slept. She’d left countless messages for Mozzie who had yet to respond; he did have a life, she reminded herself, although she was never quite sure exactly what Mozzie did with his time. She’d looked for him at June’s and had tried all eleven of the phone numbers she had for him but to no avail. 

It was ten in the morning and she’d given everybody the day off so no one would be caught in the crossfire when the not so dynamic duo inevitably made their return. She prayed that Mozzie would make an appearance before then because she wasn’t quite sure what she would do when Mutt and Jeff came back looking for their pound of flesh.

She stepped over Satchmo who was lying there being very, very good. Ever since their return the day before, he’d been in the proverbial dog house following the mess he’d made while they were out earning a living to buy him toys and food. Elizabeth gave him the evil eye once more as she thought of the beautiful vintage lamp that had been shattered into a thousand pieces and the dog just looked up, desolate and contrite, begging with his eyes to be forgiven for the unfortunate accident – although frankly, he didn’t feel he’d had anything to do with it. 

El returned to pacing back and forth, her phone to her ear as she continued to try to reach Mozzie.She suddenly heard a car stop in front of the house and peeked out behind the curtains, hoping to see Mozzie stepping out of a cab but realizing in horror that it was the two men making a return visit not even twenty-four hours after the first.

She began to panic, her mind racing as to what to do. Not content with hassling her at her place of business, they must have followed her home, she realized in horror. Was nothing sacred? She glanced around the house frantically, wondering what to do. Run? Hide? Confront them? 

No, definitely not confront them. That was crazy. On impulse, she made a beeline for the stairs, deciding that at this point, the best solution was to hide and wait for Mozzie to come and rescue her. She ran up the stairs frantically with Satchmo on her heels and just as she reached the top of the stairs, she heard the lock being picked and she made a mad dash for the closet in her bedroom, pulling the door tightly behind her as loyal Satchmo took up the spot right in front of the closet door, ready to defend his mistress.

She stood in total silence and listened intently as she heard the men moving around downstairs, obviously looking for her and taking in the lay of the land. After a few minutes, she heard footsteps coming up the stairs and she held her breath, standing motionless and hoping they wouldn’t find her - or that Satchmo would give her away. She could see him through the crack of the Venetian door, standing at attention as he heard the men enter the bedroom and he let out a convincingly menacing bark, taking the men by surprise as they stepped in to continue their search.

‘Hey pooch’ said one of the men as he came closer.

Satchmo replied with a menacing growl.

‘I hate dogs’ said the second man as he looked nervously around the bedroom.

‘Look, the broad’s obviously not here’ said the first man, the creepy one, the one who had leered at her the day before. Elizabeth could see him foraging through the various items on their chest of drawers.

‘This might be worth a few bucks’ he said as he picked something up and pocketed it.

Satchmo let out another loud bark and the second man took a step back, out of the room and towards the stairs.

‘Let’s report back to Eddie and we can try her store again this afternoon’ said ‘creepy guy’ as he followed his partner in crime out of the room and down the stairs.

It took a couple of minutes but El finally heard the front door close and with her legs barely holding her up, she stepped out of the closet, glancing down at Satchmo who was wagging his tail, looking very pleased with the job he’d done protecting her.

‘Good boy!’ she said as she patted his head. ‘You’re forgiven.’

Satchmo’s tail began to wag in response to the compliment and he followed Elizabeth down the stairs as she crept down, still worried the men might be lurking about. With no one in sight, she made her way to the kitchen, collapsing on a kitchen stool as her whole body shook uncontrollably.

The back door flew open and she let out a blood curdling scream.

‘It’s me’ Mozzie called out, alarmed at the welcome he’d gotten.

‘Mozzie!’ she shouted as she threw herself in his arms. ‘I am in so much trouble!’

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

By the time things wrapped up at the Federal Building, it was almost 11:30 and Neal still hadn’t made up his mind whether or not he would be keeping his rendez-vous with Alex. She’d said she would be waiting for him at a café not far from his office and without any conscious thinking on his part, he found his feet slowly gravitating in that direction. By five minutes to noon, he stood in front of the café at the corner of Madison and 46th and watched as Alex Hunter leisurely made her way towards him, still not having noticed he was standing there.

He observed her as she came closer, noting that she had aged gracefully over the years although her step appeared to be just a little less sprightly than he remembered. But she still had that arrogant, cocky look she’d always had and Neal wondered how it would feel to mature and enter your middle-age years while still living the life. He felt momentarily relieved, realizing he would never have to find out – he knew one thing for sure, whether he agreed to help Alex or not, he would never be going back to the life he’d willingly left behind.

She finally spotted him standing there in front of the Green Papaya and her shoulders dropped as relief flooded her face.

‘Neal! Thank God you came!’ she said as she got within earshot.

He gave her a small smile, wondering what the hell he _was_ doing there. Alex would always be Alex and he needed to make sure that he could live with whatever she would undoubtedly be asking of him. Keeping secrets from Sara was a bad idea and he needed to be sure he wasn’t creating a rift that couldn’t be mended over time.

‘Against my better judgement’ he replied as he accepted the peck she placed on his cheek.

They entered the restaurant, bypassing the large crowd of mid-day patrons and settling at a small table away from prying ears. Neal knew with certainty that he would regret having come but just like watching an accident happening in slow motion, he hadn’t been able to stop himself. He just couldn’t stand by, leaving Alex in a lurch whatever mess she’d managed to get herself into - not if there was something he could do about it.

After their drinks came, Neal put down his menu and locked eyes with Alex as he noticed the lines forming on her forehead once more.

‘Alex, what’s this all about?’ he finally asked.

She took a deep breath and he noticed with curiosity that there were tiny lines around her mouth which had never been there before, a testament to the ten years since he’d seen her last. Even cons get older, he thought with amusement.

‘I’ve gotten myself into a bit of a jam’ she admitted sheepishly.

‘So you said.’

‘I’ve been in Miami for the past six months, you know… keeping things fresh’ she began tentatively.

That was code for hitting a new city every few months to keep the cops off your trail and Neal knew exactly what that was like. He’d spent a good part of his early twenties just floating from one city to the next both in the States and in Europe, moving whenever things started to heat up, making sure to leave a cold trail behind him to whatever new place he was headed to. Alex looked tired and haggard and whatever had happened in Miami had obviously left her shaken up.

‘I did a job for a mob family down there and now they’re blackmailing me’ she said, looking slightly embarrassed.

Alex Hunter was her own person and she wasn’t used to doing other people’s bidding. As a matter of fact, she’d had more than one falling out with Neal over the years, causing them to drift apart and work independently until they would eventually come across a two-man job, compelling them to join forces once again. But like Neal, she preferred to work alone and she sure as hell didn’t want to be on anyone’s payroll, pulling heists to benefit some third party, no matter how generous her benefactors were. Like Neal, she lived by the motto ‘all the work and all the glory’.

‘How are they blackmailing you?’ asked Neal, suddenly feeling a surge of empathy for his old friend.

‘They’ve got enough on me to turn me in to the Feds unless I pull a high risk job for them here in New York’ she replied.

‘What do you need _me_ for?’ Neal asked, intrigued.

‘I need your help in scoping out the place and maybe even helping me pull off....’ she began as he interrupted.

‘Oh, no Alex! There is _no_ way you’re dragging me into a heist. I’ve left that world behind and I’m not going back’ he said, his voice strong and decisive.

‘Neal, you don’t know the Sullivans. They can be...’

‘The Sullivans!’ Neal repeated as the little light went on in his foggy brain.

‘Yeah, they’re a large mob family out of Miami’ she replied, her voice growing shaky.

Neal let out a sardonic laugh as he took in the irony of the situation. ‘I know exactly who they are’ he said, shaking his head.

‘Well, they’ve got me on tape grabbing a Mayan carving from the Lowe and then they used the tape as leverage to get me to go back for this sculpture of Aphrodite which they ended up fencing for over a million dollars – and I got a pittance’ Alex said bitterly.

‘Alex, I’m working with Peter on bringing down the Sullivans’ Neal said by way of explanation. ‘I can’t be involved in any of this – and you can’t either. You’re going to get caught.’

‘But Neal, they’re watching me. If I try to leave town without delivering the merchandise, they’ve threatened to kill me’ she said with alarm.

Neal took a deep breath as he listened, contemplating what to do next. There was always a way out of every situation, you just had to keep looking until you found it.

Why, oh why were things always so complicated whenever Alex was involved? 

WCWCWC

Sara sped through the aisles in the grocery store as she always did when she drew the short straw and had to run errands. She’d just come out of the deli section when she bumped into Mrs. Jennings from across the street, whom Sara and her friend Donna Mason kindly (or not so kindly) referred to as Mrs. Nosy. Unfortunately, despite some fancy last-minute footwork, there was no way to avoid her and before Sara knew what had happened, the snoopy neighbour had her cornered right between the coffee display and the loaves of freshly baked bread.

‘Sara! I thought that was you’ said the elderly Mrs. Jennings.

‘Hi Mrs Jennings! How are you?’ Sara said, immediately regretting having posed the simple question.

‘Well you know dear, my arthritis is acting up with the cold weather coming’ the woman replied.

‘I’m sorry to hear that’ said Sara as she tried to manoeuvre her cart around the woman who was practically blocking her way.

‘I noticed that new family that moved in two houses over from your place’ said the old lady, leaning on her cart and indicating she was settling in for a long, involved discussion.

‘He’s a police officer, did you know that? Works for the Westchester Police Department’ she continued before Sara could make a sound.

‘And I hear she works for a car dealership – I think the Kia place over on Selleck. And, you know what?’ she added, as she dropped her voice to a near whisper. ‘They’re Jehovah’s Witnesses!’

Sara was feeling trapped and she’d begun to look for an escape route when she suddenly spotted Hope’s teacher, Mrs Hines, a few feet away.

‘Mrs Jennings, I’m sorry but I need to have a word with Mrs Hines’ she said as she all but rammed her cart through the elderly woman’s path. ‘It’s been lovely talking to you.’

Karen Hines heard Sara’s voice saying her name and turned to face her, obviously in a hurry herself.

‘Mrs Caffrey, how are you?’ she said kindly.

‘Hi Mrs. Hines’ said Sara. ‘Sorry about that, I was just needing to ....’

The teacher nodded knowingly. ‘Ah, Mrs. Jennings, yes she’s got quite a reputation.’

Sara shrugged and was preparing to go on her way when the woman spoke up, once again.

‘Look, I know you’re probably concerned about Hope’s latest math test but I want you to know that I’ve already seen a difference in her level of concentration this week. She seems very committed to making up that failing grade’ she said.

Sara listened as the teacher spoke, unable to hide the surprise from her face. ‘Failing grade?’ she repeated, her mouth dropping open.

‘You did see the test result, didn’t you?’ asked Mrs Hines.

‘Actually, my husband signed off on it and he didn’t mention anything about it’ said Sara, embarrassed.

‘Look, if Hope buckles down, she can make it up by Christmas. I know she really wants to participate in the art show next semester. Tell her not to give up’ said the kind teacher as she finally pulled away and started down the fruit aisle.

Sara smiled, embarrassed that she wasn’t even aware her daughter had flunked her math test and she silently cursed Neal for not telling her about it. 

A _‘B’_ indeed!

WCWCWC

‘Agent Burke? Are you all right, sir?’ the janitor asked as he spotted Peter on all fours, head firmly buried underneath his desk.

‘Yes, I’m... Ow!’ Peter shouted as he violently bumped his head on the bottom of his desk in an attempt to rise from the floor.

‘Sorry Eugene. I was just looking for something I dropped’ said Peter, finally getting to his feet.

‘You’re working late tonight, sir’ said the cleaner as he began to push his cleaning cart into Peter’s office.

‘Well, you know, there’s always more work than we can finish in a day’ Peter replied sheepishly.

‘Eugene…’ he added, smiling at the old gentleman who had been a faithful janitor for the White Collar offices since Peter could remember. ‘You didn’t happen to find anything in here while you were cleaning yesterday, did you?’

‘Find anything?’ the man echoed, confused as to the question.

‘Yeah, I lost something and I’m not sure where’ Peter explained.

‘No sir.But I can keep an eye out. What is it you’ve lost?’

Peter hadn’t yet admitted what he’d done to anyone and for some reason, he hesitated before he spoke.

‘It’s my wife’s wedding ring. I had it in my pocket and when I got to the jewelry store it was gone. I’ve been scouring the place ever since’ he confessed.

‘Oh, no!’ said the older gentleman as he sat gingerly on the corner of Peter’s desk. ‘Have you told your wife?’

Peter shook his head, as if he was admitting to some terrible crime he’d committed.

‘I don’t blame you’ said Eugene, his eyes full of empathy. ‘Once, I ruined a book my wife was reading. It was a first edition something or other and she’d left it in the bathroom where she’d been reading it.I accidentally knocked it into the tub and watched in horror as it floated in the water, totally ruined.’

‘Did you ever tell her?’ Peter, totally immersed in the story he’d just heard.

‘Hell, no!’ said the man. ‘I lied for three months about not seeing it while I searched online for another copy. Finally got one on e-bay for $1,200.’

‘Wow!’ said Peter. ‘And you never confessed?’

‘Are you crazy, man? She loved that book and the day she saw it sitting there just out of sight under the bed, where I’d cleverly planted it, her face lit up like a Christmas tree. You know what they say, happy wife, happy life!’

Peter listened and once again realized he was in deep shit!

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

‘Mozzie!’ Elizabeth repeated as he looked on, totally confused.

Mozzie and Elizabeth had a warm and caring relationship which had grown deeper over the years but he’d never seen her quite so effusive or emotional in all the time he’d known her. Elizabeth Burke was one cool cucumber and it would have taken an awful lot to turn her into the blob of jelly that was before him.

‘What’s going on? I got your 47 messages’ he said as he pulled away to look at her face.

He could see traces of tears on her cheeks and a totally frenzied look in her eyes. Whatever had happened had reduced the cool and collected Elizabeth Burke into a woman he didn’t even recognize.

‘It’s Eddie’ she finally admitted. ‘He’s sent some men after me to get his money.’

Mozzie led her to the island in the kitchen, setting her down and taking a seat next to her. Faithful Satchmo followed, sitting next to his mistress, ready to step in should those mean, nasty men return. 

Mozzie had introduced Elizabeth to Eddie (no last name) three years earlier when she’d begged for his help. Although Mozzie wasn’t always a fan of Peter Burke and his limited, straight laced view of the world, he had begged El to tell her husband what was going on. Moving to the dark side, even to solve a pressing and immediate problem, was always a risky proposition and could come back to bite you in the ass at any time in the future. Mozzie had had dealings with Eddie for many years and he thought the man could be reasonable but the loan shark was exactly that - a loan shark. Certainly not someone who gave a rat’s ass about the people he lent money to or their problems. He had ways of getting his investment back and Mozzie had warned Elizabeth that, should she default, he might not be the charming, although smarmy guy, he’d first introduced her to.

‘But I thought you were making regular payments – every month’ Mozzie said.

‘I am... I was. But... I’ve got a bit of a... a cash flow problem at the moment and....’ her voice was halting and she began to sob, making it difficult for Mozzie to understand exactly what she was saying.

‘What? Are you saying you can’t make your monthly payment?’ he asked in a foreboding tone.

She just nodded through her tears.

‘How much of a cash flow problem?’ he asked.

She looked at him sheepishly, tears running down her face as she spoke. ’$47,300’

‘What?!’ he exclaimed as he watched her dissolve into tears once again.

‘And he sent some of his henchmen after you?’ he asked, as if they were playing charades.

She nodded again.

‘Oh, El. That’s not good’ he said, an understatement if ever there was one.

‘I know’ she cried.

‘No, I mean. It’s _really_ not good. Eddie’s not your sweet, understanding loan officer at the local bank’ he said, hesitating before continuing.

Elizabeth sat, hanging on his every word. ‘But you can fix this, right?’ she asked, desperation in her eyes.

‘Well, that’s just it. Eddie and I... we had a little parting of the ways a few months back’ he admitted as his mind began to spiral.

‘What?’ exclaimed Elizabeth as tears returned, unbidden.

He placed his hand on her back in a show of solidarity before he spoke. ‘Did they hurt you?’ he asked, solicitous.

‘No’ she sobbed. ‘But they... they scared me. Mozzie, they came to the office and then...’

‘What? What?’ asked Mozzie as he saw the frantic look on her face.

‘They were here, Mozzie!’ she exclaimed. ‘They were in my house!’

Mozzie looked on in horror as he thought of those disgusting excuses for human beings rummaging through the Burke house, frightening his friend. He hadn’t told Elizabeth everything – like the fact that he was existing on fumes himself, these days. But he took one look at her and all he could do was reassure her that things would be okay. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder as she wept.

‘It’s okay. We’ll find a way’ he finally said.

WCWCWC

Neal’s mind was spinning out of control as he lay in bed watching Sara get ready to join him. His mind hadn’t stopped reeling since his lunch meeting with Alex and he couldn’t for the life of him get her or her present predicament out of his mind.

As usual, he was trying to play both ends against the middle – trying to find a way to get his job done for the Bureau, satisfy the Sullivans and help Alex get out of the mess she was in. A tall order indeed. The Sullivans had already been in touch that afternoon asking for a meet the next day. They’d heard he was in the market for some work and they had plenty of work for willing and qualified thieves. He knew that if he just thought long and hard enough, he would find a way to bring the Sullivans down _and_ have Alex fulfill her contract with them so they could finally cut her loose.

If he’d been paying attention to his wife as he should have instead of thinking about his ex-partner in crime, he would have noticed that she’d been rather distant all evening. He gave her a weak, unconvincing smile as he took in the sight of her changing into a t-shirt in preparation for hitting the sack. He looked her up and down, marvelling at how hot she looked no matter what she was wearing. He watched as she brushed her hair and turned to look at him, her face still rather sombre and he wondered for a moment if he might have inadvertently done something to piss her off in the last twenty-four hours. Something she actually _knew_ about.

‘Anything wrong?’ he asked as she finally made her way to bed and slipped in beside him.

‘You could say that’ she answered cryptically as he frowned.

He waited for her to continue, genuinely unaware of what could possibly be annoying her. Could she have found out somehow that Alex had appeared out of nowhere?

‘Is it the case?’ he asked. ‘You said you were okay with me going undercover.’

She sighed. ‘No, it’s not the case… I mean I’m not thrilled about you rubbing elbows with a mob family but… ‘

‘What?’

‘It’s Hope.’

‘Hope?’

‘Neal, how could you not tell me she’d flunked her math test?’ she finally blurted out.

‘What do you mean? She told us she got a B’ he replied, puzzled.

‘Well she didn’t. I bumped into Mrs. Hines at the grocery store and she went on and on about how Hope can still make up her failed test if she works hard for the rest of the semester.’

‘What?’ Neal asked again, totally shocked at what his wife was saying.

‘You mean you didn’t know?’ Sara said, equally surprised.

‘No, how would _I_ know? Hope said you’d signed off on the test.’

‘Why, that little monkey! She told me _you’d_ signed off on it’ Sara replied, her blood beginning to boil.

If there was one thing they both insisted on from their children, it was honesty. They’d always been supportive of their kids no matter what as long as they didn’t keep things from them and came clean if they got themselves into any kind of trouble. Neal and Sara had had enough secrets and deceptions between them to last a lifetime and they both knew how destructive and dangerous lies could be in a relationship. They didn’t want anything to stand between them and their children and they worked hard to be good models for them.

‘Why would she lie about it?’ he asked. Despite his predisposition for bending the truth, he had faith in others to be honest, especially his children.

Sara rolled her eyes. ‘Neal, she knows how disappointed you’d be if she didn’t get to participate in the art show.’

‘Yeah, but...’ he began, still taking it all in. Of course, he wanted Hope to do well and to pursue her passion for the arts but it was worrisome to think she would anticipate such disappointment from her dad.

He lay down and pulled Sara closer to him; he always _did_ see things more clearly when she was in his arms.

‘Look, I’ll have a talk with her tomorrow, try to get to the bottom of it. Kids don’t always think straight when they’re in trouble’ he said, remembering all the misdeeds of his youth and how he’d have done just about anything to hide his transgressions.

Sara began to relax as he spoke. She felt the same way he did – there was no problem or issue they couldn’t overcome if they worked together.

Neal’s mind began to wander once again, back to Alex and her problems and he found himself wishing everything would just go away – including the burgeoning guilt he was feeling at keeping something from his wife. He brushed his lips against Sara’s hair, taking in the familiar scent of her shampoo and feeling a sudden and overwhelming urge to forget all his troubles, to have her sweep it all away.

He touched her face, tilting it towards him as he kissed her deeply, his need escalating to focus on her, just her, the one person who meant the world to him. His mouth began to seek her out more eagerly, moving towards her neck, down her shoulder, hungrily, impatiently as he felt her tremble beneath his touch. In an effort to escape his persistent thoughts and feelings of guilt, his arms enveloped her, pulling her in so tight she let out a small, surprised yelp.

‘Neal, what’s wrong?’ she asked as she felt the desperation radiating off of him.

‘I love you _so_ much, you know that, right?’ he managed to say, his voice halting and breathless, torment tinting each of his words as he continued to pull her in, his mouth and hands moving at lightning speed over her entire body. 

He felt an overpowering need to flood his mind, his soul, his body with thoughts and sensation of his wife, leaving room for nothing else – the Sullivans, the case, Alex, the kids, his guilt. Nothing else mattered and this sudden and impulsive longing and desire for her washed over him like a ten foot wave and he wanted nothing more than to drown in her touch, her scent, the sound of her voice, the feel of her skin.

‘I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you...’ he murmured breathlessly as he sunk ever deeper in that wave, abandoning himself to this woman who was ultimately his reason for living. His mouth and hands continued their frantic exploration of her body as he moved down to her stomach, feeling like he couldn’t move fast enough, starved as he was for her.

As startled as she was by the intensity of Neal’s fervour, Sara responded in kind, pulling him to her, enjoying the feel of his mouth and hands as they traveled down her body with an urgency she hadn’t known in quite some time.

‘Honey… are you all right?’ she managed to say as her breathing grew shallow, her body quivering as his fingertips and lips brushed her skin.

‘Sara... Sara... Sara... Sara’ he moaned incoherently, totally immersed in the sensation of her body pressed to his.

He began to respond to his growing need for release, his body shaking with intensity as his hands and mouth covered every inch of her, their bodies finally coming together blissfully as one. In that moment, there was nothing in the world but the two of them, their minds and bodies fused as they ultimately abandoned themselves to the release of their frenzied bodies. He held on for a long time, refusing to let the feeling end, not wanting to let his mind return to its previous thoughts and worries.

Within moments, as they lay there totally spent, Neal’s mind began to wander again and he realized that their idyllic intimacy would be nothing but a mirage if he didn’t soon come clean about his little deception. 

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

Sara lay next to Neal, the sound of his breathing and the pounding of his heart finally relenting as he came out of his sudden and unexpected stupor. She had only experienced ‘guilt sex’ twice before, both times when Neal was keeping something from her and had begun to grow increasingly uneasy about his deception. One of those times, she hadn’t even known he was keeping something from her until afterwards when he’d finally confessed. It was only then that she’d understood the intensity and total abandon with which he’d made love to her the night before. The second time, she had waited for it. She knew Neal had lied to her and was feeling guilt and remorse and sure enough, he’d fallen apart in her arms, totally abandoning himself to her, hoping desperately to lose himself in her so he could momentarily forget his deception. The confession had come the following morning, to Sara’s delight.

In years gone by, Neal Caffrey would have had very little difficulty – or remorse – deceiving those around him as long as it served his interests. But that was a long time ago and he was no longer that guy. Developing trust with those he loved had taken a very long time and constant effort on his part and he hated to think about compromising that trust. Whenever he was tempted to mislead Sara, he would think back to his wedding vows and recall how he had promised to be a better man both for her and for Hope, the promise continuing to echo in his mind as the years passed. 

Sara had seen that evolution in her husband and although she wasn’t the most patient or forgiving person in the world, she couldn’t deny the changes she’d seen over time in this wonderful man she loved so very much. 

This time, she’d decided to wait patiently for Neal to come clean about Alex. She’d spotted the origami bird hidden in his suit jacket and she’d known instantly what its significance was. The colourful object’s unexpected appearance combined with the faraway look in Neal’s eyes and his aloof behaviour had all pointed to the fact he was keeping something from her. But she knew how her husband’s mind worked and she’d been waiting patiently for him to confess - or to totally fall apart in her arms, consumed by guilt and remorse. This time, she’d chosen not to confront him or berate him but rather wait for him to decide for himself when to confide in her.

Sure, she’d often chewed him out over the years for all kinds of perceived transgressions and he had learned over time that this was how Sara Ellis dealt with hurt and betrayal. But they had worked long and hard at not having any secrets and Sara believed in him. She knew he wanted to be a better man and she needed to give him the time and space to do the right thing.She’d bide her time, and hope he would eventually come clean. 

She kissed his chest gently, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and she instantly felt his heartbeat start to speed up once again.

WCWCWC

The Brooklyn sky was clear and Elizabeth Burke lay staring out at the crescent moon while she listened to her husband’s steady snoring next to her. She thought back to her discussion with Mozzie and the increasingly deep hole she had dug for herself. Mozzie had confessed that he was going through a dry spell and had no liquidity at the moment although he did have a stash of ‘stuff’ he could try to fence in order to help her out. The solution was not ideal, pulling her deeper down the road to illegal and immoral deeds and she reflected on how she was not better that the likes of Eddie whatsisname. 

Somehow, Mozzie had managed to contact Eddie through an acquaintance of an acquaintance of an acquaintance and he’d agreed to meet with both Mozzie and Elizabeth the next day in order to renegotiate the terms of their little ‘arrangement’. At least that was something. It meant that his two bullies would hold back and stop terrorizing her, at least temporarily.

How could she have been so stupid? Keeping secrets from Peter was not a good idea, that’s why she never did. Except for this time. All because she was too proud to have him find out she was unable to balance books to save her life. She turned, gazing at the wonderful man he’d always been and sensing a renewed wave of guilt. _He_ would never hold anything back from her and she deserved whatever happened to her for not having been honest with such a good and decent man. She noticed him flinch in his sleep, murmuring something about a rolling pin, of all things. She poked him in the ribs to bring him out of what seemed like a bad dream and he mumbled something and turned over, resuming his soft snoring.

She wished that all _she_ had to worry about was a damn rolling pin.

WCWCWC

_Peter walked into the kitchen to find his wife baking apple pies, his absolute favourite. How did he ever get so lucky he reflected as he made his way over to place a peck on her cheek._

_‘Hi hon’ she said, smiling as she sprinkled brown sugar on the pile of apples she’d just placed in the freshly rolled pie dough._

_‘Mmmm. Apple pies! What did I do to deserve this?’ he asked._

_‘I just wanted my darling husband to know that I appreciate everything he does for me’ El replied with a warm smile on her lips._

_The smell of cinnamon hung in the air and Peter took in a deep lungful as he sighed in satisfaction._

_‘Oh, honey. Did you remember to pick up my ring today? It’s been over a week’ she said as she continued to roll the pie dough._

_Peter stood motionless as if his feet were glued to the floor. The moment of reckoning was finally upon him although he had tried to convince himself that she would eventually forget all about the damn ring. Who was he kidding? This was her wedding ring and she wasn’t about to just let it go._

_‘Honey?’ she repeated as she waited patiently for an answer to her question._

_‘El... I...’ Peter began, unsure how to confess his misdeed._

_‘What is it honey?’ she asked, concern in her voice._

_‘El, I love you so much’ he said, tongue tied._

_‘Peter, what did you do?’ she asked, beginning to put two and two together._

_He stood there looking guilty as hell._

_‘Where’s my ring, Peter?’ she asked, growing angry._

_‘Honey, I’m sorry.... I... I.... I lost it’ he finally said, on the verge of tears._

_‘WHAT?’ Elizabeth shouted as she lifted the rolling pin over her head and ran around the kitchen island where Peter was still standing immobile._

_‘NO!’ he screamed as he cowered. ‘Not the rolling pin!’_

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his side and the rolling pin – and Elizabeth – disappeared from view as he returned to a dreamless, peaceful sleep.

WCWCWC

Liam sat at the breakfast table looking down at his bowl of cereal with a long, gloomy face.

‘How many more sleeps?’ he asked his mom who sat nearby sipping her coffee.

Neal and Sara had decided that, as a consequence of having broken the rules at preschool, Liam would have to endure an entire week without his beloved video games. At three and a half, his games consisted mostly of matching words to pictures or games inspired by Disney movies (no violent games in the Caffrey home) but Liam loved his one hour of video games each day and he was waiting not so patiently for his punishment to be over.

‘Honey, it’s only been two days. Five more’ said Sara with empathy.

‘Five?’ Liam echoed, his voice loud as he looked at the five fingers of his hand.

‘This many?’ he asked, raising his hand to show his mom.

‘Afraid so, buddy’ she confirmed taking in the look of total desolation on her little boy’s face.

‘But Caleb was mean and _he_ didn’t get punished’ he complained.

‘Honey, why don’t you want to tell us what he did?’ Sara asked.

She knew her little guy didn’t have a malicious bone in his body and she couldn’t understand what could have possibly happened to make him take his tiny, little fist and slam it into Caleb’s face. If there were extenuating circumstances, they wanted to know about it. Although it was never appropriate to punch someone, doing it spitefully was totally different from say… defending someone’s honour.

‘I can’t’ he said – just as he’d said about a dozen times before.

‘Why not?’ she asked, touching his hand and looking into his beautiful green eyes, a mirror of her own.

Liam looked around, making sure they were alone before speaking.

‘I don’t want to hurt Daddy’s feelings’ he finally whispered.

‘ _Daddy’s_ feelings?’ Sara repeated, puzzled. ‘Why would it hurt Daddy’s feelings?’

‘Caleb said bad things about Daddy’ he confessed as he looked at his mom with a long, sad face.

Sara swallowed, wondering what this child could have possibly said. ’What… what did he say?’ she finally asked, bracing for the answer.

Liam’s lower lip began to tremble as tears started streaming down his cheeks. ’He said Daddy’s a bad man and that he went to jail.’

Sara let out a long slow breath as she opened her arms to her darling little boy. He melted into her embrace, letting himself be comforted by his mommy as Sara closed her eyes tight, wondering how she was going to deal with this situation.

WCWCWC

Hope sat in the coffee shop sipping her hot chocolate and enjoying the full attention of her dad, sitting across from her. She loved spending time alone with him. They never had a shortage of things to talk about whether it was school, some painting she was working on or some movie they had watched together. The two of them enjoyed a special kind of bond and Neal loved spending time with his little girl whenever he could.

‘I just don’t think the ending was very believable’ said Hope authoritatively as she looked at her dad.

‘Well, movies are like that, sweet pea, they like to tie everything up in a nice bow and give everyone a happy ending’ Neal replied.

‘It’s too bad real life is not like that’ said Hope, looking thoughtful.

‘Oh, yeah? What’s so terrible about your life, young lady?’ he asked as he tugged at her nose.

He’d been attempting to get Hope to open up about her deception without coming right out and confronting her. He, himself, was usually forthcoming when the time was right and he’d learned there was something to be said for coming clean – a feeling of release and liberation – and he wanted to give her a chance to tell the truth. He thought momentarily of the ‘Alex situation’ and the fact that he was misleading Sara, the deception weighing increasingly heavy on his mind and he thought back to the desperation he’d felt the night before as he’d practically ravished her.

Hope just looked straight ahead, looking awfully guilty and Neal decided it was time to change tactics.

‘So, are you excited about participating in the art show after Christmas?’ he asked, his eyes bright.

Hope’s face began to wilt and she looked up at her daddy as tears began to fill her eyes. It was almost as if he knew what she’d done and as a novice liar, she immediately became overcome with guilt and remorse. She had not anticipated having to bury her deception in yet more lies and she became overwhelmed with emotion as she looked at Neal, finally bursting into tears.

‘Daddy, I did a really bad thing.’

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

‘So what are _you_ up to today?’ asked Peter as he slipped into his usual weekend garb, a pair of old jeans and a well-worn t-shirt.

‘Um... Mozzie and I are going to meet for lunch’ said Elizabeth, avoiding his probing gaze.

‘Oh yeah? Did you _need_ me to come along?’ asked Peter innocently, emphasis on ‘need’.

He couldn’t understand how the two of them had ever hooked up or what El could possibly appreciate about spending time with the small time hustler. He always felt he should be protecting her from some con Mozzie might be trying to pull on her although he had to admit to having an increasingly soft spot for the confidence man.

‘You know honey, I think Mozzie always gets nervous when you’re around so...’ she let the words trail, letting her husband fill in the blank.

‘That’s okay, I’ve got my ‘honey do list’ anyway’ Peter replied, resigned to having to do some household chores.

‘Oh, and don’t forget, we’re going out to dinner with Neal and Sara tonight. That really nice place on West 38th. You’ll need to wear a suit’ said El, choosing one from their bedroom closet and placing it on the bed.

‘Awww! Seriously?’ muttered Peter, disappointed – not at having to go out to dinner with their best friends but at the fact that El and Neal had colluded once more to pick a place that was upscale enough for him to have to wear a suit.

He wore one to work every day of his life and he looked forward to dressing down on weekends. He began to sift through his very limited collection of cuff links, something to match the shirt El was presently laying on the bed for him.

‘Honey, where are those cufflinks you gave me for Christmas last year’ he asked as he rummaged through the few pair he owned.

Elizabeth flashed to that morning she’d been holed up in their closet, watching as the two thugs rummaged through their things. She’d seen one of the men grab something off of Peter’s chest of drawers and now she realized they’d probably made off with the gorgeous pair of sterling silver cufflinks she’s given her husband – a gift which she had paid entirely too much for.

‘I don’t know’ she lied. ‘I haven’t seen them in a while. Just pick something else’

‘But, I like those...’ Peter began as he kept searching.

‘Honey, I’m going to be late. Just pick another pair and we’ll look for them later’ she replied dismissively as she swept in to give her husband a quick kiss on her way out of the bedroom.

She stopped on the other side of the door and leaned against the wall, taking a long slow breath.What a tangled web indeed, she thought, realizing how lies had a way of multiplying in order to cover up the original deceit. She wasn’t very good at lying and frankly, it was not a skill she had ever aspired to excel at.

WCWCWC

Neal looked on as Hope began to fall apart in front of his eyes, feeling somewhat guilty at having manipulated her into admitting what she’d done. He looked around, noticing there were a few people around. The last thing he wanted was for Hope to be embarrassed by having a major meltdown in a public place. He took her hand and waited for her to continue.

‘I told you and Mommy a lie’ she finally admitted.

‘What kind of lie?’ he asked patiently.

‘I didn’t get a B on my math test’ she said sheepishly as she finally looked up to see her dad’s reaction.

Neal just sat in silence and waited, frowning as she spoke. He was secretly relieved that Hope was finally coming clean and he wanted to hear the whole story from her perspective.

‘I flunked it, Daddy’ she admitted as the sobs intensified.

‘Why didn’t you tell us the truth?’ Neal asked as he looked at his little girl, heartbroken.

‘Because I knew how much you wanted me to be part of the art show and now I don’t know if they’ll let me be in it’ she answered, wiping her eyes as she spoke.

‘Hope, of course I was hoping you’d be in the art show.But I know you’re doing your best and...’ he began as Hope cut him off.

‘That’s just it, Daddy. I should have studied more. Olivia tried to warn me but I didn’t study the multiplication tables enough’ Hope admitted sheepishly.

Neal just looked on, a mixture of empathy and disillusionment in his eyes. He let out a long, slow sigh which Hope immediately interpreted as disappointment and she began to cry more loudly, ignoring the fact they were in a public place.

‘Hope, Hope. Honey calm down’ said Neal, unaware that there was still more to come.

‘There’s something else, Daddy. Something really really bad’ she said breathlessly.

Neal leaned in closer to listen. ‘I let Olivia sign your name on my test paper so you wouldn’t see it’ she admitted, in full blown confession mode.

‘Hope!’ he exclaimed. This was a piece of the puzzle he’d known nothing about although this new piece of information shed some light on why neither he nor Sara had seen the flunked test.

Neal thought long and hard about how to react. He was about to lecture his daughter on the consequences of deceit, realizing full well the hypocrisy of such a reprimand considering the fact that _he_ was withholding the truth from the one person who trusted him the most. Still, he had a parenting role to play – he could berate himself for his own sins later or better yet, come clean. For now, he had to let Hope know that what she’d done was wrong and that there were consequences to lying to your parents.

‘I won’t tell you I’m not disappointed, I am. But not because you might not be in the art show, that’s not important’ he began.

Hope sat in silence. She knew there would be some fallout from her deception but she somehow felt relief flood her as she listened to her dad’s words.

‘Honey, Mommy and I trust you and Liam to be honest with us. We’ll always love you no matter what it is you’ve done so you should never be afraid to tell us the truth. Hope, everybody makes mistakes. I’ve told you about some of the mistakes I made when I was younger. But it’s what we do to fix those mistakes that’s important’ he said, feeling pretty damn good about how he was handling the situation.

Hope nodded as she listened, looking very repentant.

‘I’m sorry’ she said simply.

‘You’re going to have to tell Mom about this and then she and I will decide together what your punishment will be’ he added, sternly.

Even though Hope knew she would be doing penance for her misdeed, she smiled at her dad through her tears, realizing that now, there was nothing but truth and honesty between them. He smiled back, unable to help himself.

WCWCWC

Neal walked into the house with Hope in tow, realizing with concern it was past two o’clock and his meeting with the Sullivan clan was in less than an hour.

He and Sara exchanged looks as they both uttered the same phrase, to each other’s surprise.

‘We need to talk’ they said in unison.

‘Later’ added Neal. ‘I’ve got to get to my meet with the Sullivans.’

He ran up the stairs to change into some a more shifty outfit, something slick and slimy which would inspire scum like the Sullivans to believe he was still working for the dark side. 

Sara took a deep breath. She and Neal had discussed the case and she knew Neal had a meeting with the mobsters but she couldn’t help but wonder if he wasn’t really going out to meet Alex. It was taking a long time for him to tell her the truth and with each passing minute, she was getting closer and closer to confronting him, yelling at him, accusing him of being deceitful. She needed to hang on a little bit longer. If he hadn’t said anything by the time they went to bed, she’d decided she would confront him and she knew that by then, she wouldn’t be so kind and understanding.

Neal returned within minutes wearing a leather jacket, some dark jeans and with his hair slicked back – his usual smarmy disguise. When you looked like Neal Caffrey though, you always looked good even when you were going for sleazy and Sara admired his tight little ass as he headed for the door. He gave her a small wave and, blowing her a kiss, he disappeared from sight.

WCWCWC

Mozzie had agreed to swing by and pick up Elizabeth so they could go to their meeting together. Peter opened the door to find the bespectacled man standing there, the obligatory scarf around his neck and a corduroy jacket over a nondescript shirt and a pair of jeans. Mozzie’s choice of clothing was eclectic to say the least and no matter what he wore, he seemed to have a need to defy society’s conventions, giving the whole world the finger and being his own man.

‘El!Mozzie’s here’ Peter called up the stairs.

‘So, where are you two headed today?’ Peter asked as he stood in the doorway. 

He didn’t like Mozzie roaming around the house unaccompanied. He preferred to keep him corralled in the front hall where he could keep an eye on him. A lot of good that did him. He knew all too well that when he wasn’t home, El had him over frequently for tea and stimulating conversation (on what topics, he couldn’t possibly fathom).

‘It’s a surprise’ replied Mozzie, which was the truth considering they weren’t going to lunch at all.

‘Mozzie, hi!’ El’s voice floated down the stairs. She was dressed for work, a smart looking two piece skirt and jacket and Peter gave her a smile of appreciation as he took in her long legs atop her four inch heels.

He bid them goodbye, returning to the garbage disposal which was in sad need of repair... the joys of home ownership.

‘I’m so nervous’ Elizabeth said as they climbed into her car.

‘It’s going to be fine, El. I have a large selection of items I can offer him and if he really wants cash, I can fence a lovely but lesser known Manet for at least five grand’ Mozzie answered, trying to sound reassuring.

Truth was, he wasn’t looking forward to crossing paths with Eddie again. As a matter of fact, Eddie’s name was scrawled in big bold letters on Mozzie’s grudge list – the one he not-so-secretly kept on his person at all times. He would wait until the opportunity presented itself and he would plot his revenge against those who had done him wrong over the years (or those whom he _perceived_ to have done him wrong). The list of potential targets seemed to be growing longer every year in direct proportion to Mozzie’s growing disillusionment with the world and pretty soon, he was going to need more than a few sheets of paper to hold the ever growing list. In the case of Eddie, he’d recently given Sara a lead on a painting he thought the man was attempting to fence. He’d have to remember to tell Sara to hang back until this whole mess was over before she went after him. He sure as hell didn’t need to be in Eddie’s bad books until Elizabeth’s business with him was all squared away. 

They made their way into Manhattan, both of them lost in thought – Mozzie hoping he could satisfy Eddie with his offerings and El mostly lost in thoughts of guilt and remorse at how she was ‘handling’ her own husband. He didn’t deserve to be deceived and she wondered once again if she shouldn’t come clean about the mess she’d gotten herself into.

They continued in silence and arrived at Burke Premiere Events, parking directly in front of the storefront.

WCWCWC

Neal made his way to a secluded office in Brooklyn, not terribly far from the Burke home. It was the rendezvous point for his meeting with the Sullivans although he had no idea who exactly he was going to be meeting. He looked around, getting his bearings, wanting to make certain he wasn’t walking into some dangerous situation – well, more dangerous than meeting members of a renowned crime family, that is. He wondered if there would be any mention of Alex and her part in their plans. He hadn’t talked to her since he’d met her for lunch but he’d promised to see what he could do to help her out – without putting himself or his family at risk. 

Truth was, he was still trying to figure out how he could possibly do that and still bring down the Sullivans. 

There was always another way.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

Peter finished up his second cup of coffee and had just begun to straighten out the kitchen when it occurred to him that he hadn’t given the house the full once over on his frantic search for El’s ring. After all, this was where the whole sordid story had begun, the place where Elizabeth had reluctantly taken off her wedding ring and handed it to him for safe keeping. What if it had fallen out of his ripped pocket even before he’d left the house that morning?

He thought briefly of the dream he’d had, realizing he’d never look at an apple pie quite the same way again and he began to retrace his steps from that fateful morning earlier in the week. He remembered that El had taken off her ring as she sat on the edge of the bed up in their bedroom. He had already been fully dressed and he recalled grabbing a couple of tissues from the bedside table to carefully wrap the ring in, depositing it delicately in his right jacket pocket. 

Peter climbed the stairs, two by two, arriving in the bedroom and immediately diving onto his poor, old, weathered knees in order to start foraging around and under the bed for the coveted item. 

Nothing.

Satchmo watched his master on all fours with interest, his tail wagging furiously in unrestrained joy. Surely this must be some new game he wanted to play and he stuck his wet snout in Peter’s face, eliciting a groan from the FBI agent as he promptly pushed him away. So much for reading the signs, thought the dog. Peter got to his feet, moving carefully around the room, taking in every inch of every surface – after all, wasn’t this was Agent Peter Burked did better than anyone else, search for clues to solve a crime. Only this time, he was the criminal, the one who had inadvertently stolen the precious ring from his beloved wife. His search turned up nothing but some clumps of dog hair, compliments of Satchmo and a stray earring from a pair he never remembered seeing El wear – probably because she only had one left!

He continued his investigation in the bathroom, back in the hallway and he finally made his way downstairs, eyes searching as he went. After thirty minutes of thorough exploration, Peter flopped down on the couch, dejected, as he realized the ring was simply not there. It could be anywhere between the house and office, probably scooped up by some passerby on a busy street, he realized with increasing dismay. He was going to have to come clean with Elizabeth. He sure as hell wasn’t going to wait for her to stand there with a rolling pin in her hands, asking him about where the precious ring was. He would have to pick the perfect time to tell her and make damn sure he had a brand new (and even more expensive) ring in his hand ready to put on her finger.

He walked into the kitchen, glancing briefly at the broken down garbage disposal and opened the refrigerator door instead, grabbing a beer in one swift motion. He turned away defiantly, returning to the living room, turning on the television and putting his legs up on the couch. There was only one thing that could make him feel better; thank God the Rangers had an afternoon game.

WCWCWC

‘Caffrey, your reputation precedes you’ said Shawn Sullivan as he shook Neal’s hand.

Neal took the man in – well dressed, early forties, looking quite dapper for a crime syndicate family member. A younger man stood next to him, looking like he might be learning the ropes and following in the illustrious family’s footsteps.

‘This is my nephew, Max’ said Sullivan as he introduced the young man who couldn’t be more that twenty years old and looked terrified to be there.

Neal nodded in response, trying to keep an air of mystery about him. The young man looked absolutely out of his league, standing awkwardly next to his uncle. Neal wondered if this poor hapless youngster knew what he’d been born into and he momentarily felt sorry for the kid who would undoubtedly be pulled into the underworld crime scene against his will.

‘I hear you’re in the market for some help’ Neal said as the three men sat in what was obviously a very transient office.

A desk, a couple of chairs and some sundry ‘mystery’ boxes littered the small space which had obviously been rented hastily to give them some meeting space, away from prying eyes.

‘Well, we hear you’re the best at what you do and that you’re open to new… projects’ said Sullivan.

‘I am indeed, if it’s the _right_ project’ said Neal as he looked the man up and down.

‘Well, I think you’ll find we can be very generous when we’re satisfied with the services we acquire’ the man said.

‘So, what’s the job, exactly?’ Neal asked, cutting to the chase.

‘Well, we have a couple of targets at local museums and we have some local manpower, although no one of your, ahem, caliber’ the man replied to Neal’s delight.

Even after all these years, Neal still loved to hear how his notoriety preceded him everywhere he went. His skills and talents were top of the line. He knew it and everyone else knew it. He’d acquired a reputation on all five continents and he’d proven he could be cunning and clever while getting results.Of course, in his heyday, Neal would never have considered carrying out a job for someone else. Why take the risk if you couldn’t fully benefit from the fruits of your labor? 

He sat and listened to the offer. He didn’t want to look overeager and he briefly thought of Alex who would be none too pleased to hear someone refer to him as the master thief and forger he’d been. She liked to think of herself as being in the same league although everybody knew Neal had always been the mastermind behind all the jobs they’d carried out over the years.

‘So, we’re looking to offer you a very lucrative contract to oversee the thefts and to ‘liaise’ with the fences after the fact’ Sullivan said without batting an eye, as if he were discussing some above-board business dealing.

‘Oh yeah?’ Neal said with a scowl. ‘How lucrative?’

‘We’re looking at ten percent of the fenced value...’ Sullivan began before being interrupted by a loud scoff coming from the ex CI.

Neal rose in an attempt to show his displeasure and Sullivan immediately spoke up again.

‘Fine… Tell me what it would take to secure your services’ the man said, showing his hand.

Neal stood confidently, puffed up like a peacock, cockiness oozing from every pore in his body as he spoke.

‘You expect me to take all the risks and walk away with ten percent of the profits’ he said, his voice dripping with arrogance.

‘Well, I am authorized to negotiate’ explained the man as the young kid looked on totally overwhelmed by the discussion.

Neal stood, legs wide apart, staking his ground and signalling he was listening but had yet to be convinced about the merits of the proposition.

‘After all, we’ve scoped the targets, done all the preliminary work, checked out the security systems, the best windows of opportunity’ continued Sullivan. ‘That’s worth a lot. All you have to do is sweep in and carry out the actual job.’

’Right… and be the one left holding the bag if it all goes south’ he said with over confidence. ‘I don’t think so.’

‘It won’t go south. We’ve done our work. But we do lack the talent to actually carry out the job – that’s where you come in.’

‘Make me a better offer’ Neal said, authoritatively.

‘All right, let’s make it fifteen’ said Sullivan in a staring match with Neal, neither man wanting to show any sign of weakness.

Neal laughed sardonically. ‘Twenty or I walk out right now, leaving you with nothing’ Neal declared, defiant.

He watched the other man’s reaction, hoping he hadn’t pushed too hard. Shawn Sullivan stood up suddenly, putting out his hand towards Neal.

‘Deal!’ he said with finality as Neal relented and reached out to shake the man’s hand.

‘So who are these ‘trainees’ you want me to work with?’ Neal asked, hoping to hear the mobster’s plans for Alex Hunter.

‘All in due time’ said Sullivan. ‘We’ll be in touch, keep your calendar open.’

Neal nodded in acceptance. Over time he’d learned that the more people talked, the more they showed their vulnerability. A nice, cold, stoic stare always conveyed a clear and confident message.He turned without a second glance and strutted out of the room.

WCWCWC

Elizabeth placed the key in the door of Burke Premiere Events as she held her breath. For all they knew, the loan shark might already be inside, lurking around. It wasn’t the case however and she let out an audible sigh as she and Mozzie stepped into the office, turning on the lights in the small room. Mozzie was wearing an air of unusual confidence – all spurious, in fact. But for El’s sake, he had to look like he knew what the hell he was doing and he silently wished Neal was standing next to him for moral support. His ex-partner in crime had always been much better than he was at projecting an air of confidence in these types of situations but today it was down to him and Mozzie gave El a small encouraging smile.

‘It’s going to be fine’ he said with fake conviction although Elizabeth was too terrified to pick up on the lack of self-assuredness.

She smiled back nervously. He might be used to dealing with hoodlums but she most certainly wasn’t and just as he had a moment ago, she thought about her own support system and she silently wished she had strong, strapping Agent Peter Burke standing next to her to defend her honour. Her honour? Really? Who was she kidding? She’d been deceitful and fraudulent and she didn’t deserve the support of such an honest and loyal man. She shook the thought away; she had to be strong for now and get through this meeting with a semblance of her pride intact – and all her limbs in one piece.

‘Do you really think he’ll go for taking some of your loot instead of the money?’ she asked Mozzie as they settled in to wait for the loan shark to make his appearance.

‘I don’t know. But I do have a back-up plan. That painting is worth a lot and I’ve put feelers out to see if there’s a market for it. But it might take a couple of days to get a bite’ he cautioned.

Elizabeth nodded as she realized with horror that she was suddenly well-versed in all this criminal vernacular which a few years ago would have seemed so foreign to her. How had she become embroiled in such a situation? Her pride, that’s how. She wanted Peter to be proud of her and she’d taken great satisfaction in setting up the company and running it so successfully all those years. To have to admit that she didn’t have very good judgement when it came to money matters was just too much for her damn, misplaced pride. Her talents lay in her people skills, her wonderful sense of style and her extensive knowledge of venues and other resources. Why, oh why hadn’t she hired a book-keeper all those years ago?

Mozzie looked at El fondly as he ran through the many scenarios which might be playing out imminently. She didn’t deserve all this. She was good people and she deserved good things. He would make certain that no harm came to her even if he had to step out of his comfort zone to do it. He sure hoped that Eddie was in a good mood. The man was notorious for flying off the handle at the slightest sign of a disagreement and he’d demonstrated he didn’t have the patience when it came to people refusing to carry out his wishes. That was exactly what had put Eddie in Mozzie’s bad books in the first place, his inability to be reasonable and to listen to other’s points of view. He thought briefly of the conflict he’d had with the man the last time their paths had crossed and how he had finally given Mozzie the evil eye before leaving in a huff.

They felt a cool breeze as the door opened and suddenly, there stood Eddie with his two thugs on either side.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

El rummaged through her closet, trying to come up with an outfit to wear out to dinner although her mind was somewhere else altogether.She hoped the arrangement she and Mozzie had arrived at would hold Eddie for a few days - at least until Mozzie worked out the details. The man had hemmed and hawed as Mozzie had shown him an assortment of items from his hidden stash although at one point, his eyes had lit up when Mozzie showed him that Manet he’d mentioned to El. She’d seen a fleeting look of what appeared to be regret in Mozzie’s eyes at Eddie’s reaction and once again, she realized that she’d unwittingly dragged one of her best friends into a most sordid affair, forcing him to make some sacrifices. For all she knew, that painting could be hanging in one of Mozzie’s safe houses, his pride and joy. 

In the end, Eddie had made it clear that only cash would do and that the debt had now doubled since they’d last talked. Elizabeth had protested only to receive a discreet yet firm kick in the shin from Mozzie, urging her to shut up. Whatever the amount, it needed to be paid and once this mess was sorted out, a solid financial plan would have to be hatched if Burke Premiere Events was to live to see another day. Eddie had given Elizabeth forty-eight hours to settle her debt and Mozzie had scurried away to begin arrangements to fence a few choice items asap. Elizabeth didn’t want a repeat performance of what had happened earlier in the week when the two scoundrels had snooped through their personal things in the sanctity of their own home. If only Peter knew what was going on, he’d flip.

Satchmo barked as he looked up at his mistress, freaked out by the faraway look in her eyes. She gave him a loving pat on the head and returned to the task at hand, letting her hand rest on a pretty pale blue dress she liked and pulling it out of the closet. She made her way across the room with Satchmo following close behind and let herself fall on the edge of the bed.

She let out a quiet yelp as she felt something hard and unyielding digging into her butt cheek. What the hell? She tugged at Peter’s suit jacket on which she’d accidentally perched herself and examined it, searching for what had caused her to react. She stood, smoothing the jacket out on the bed as she searched for the mystery item that had caused her to jump. As her hand reached the edge of the jacket, she felt it again.

Something hard.... right inside the lining.

WCWCWC

‘Hey!’ Sara called out as Neal made an appearance in their kitchen, looking a little worse for wear. ‘You all right?’

His shoulders were drooping, his face tight and he gave her a weak smile as he reached out for her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and dropping his face to rest in the crook of her neck. He inhaled deeply and let out a soft moan.

‘I’m okay’ he mumbled as she reached up and ran her hand through his hair.

‘Did it go badly?’ she murmured, feeling a tinge of desperation in his touch.

He shook his head but didn’t slacken his grip as he fought to obliterate the last dregs of the meeting with the Sullivans. Although he always felt strangely invigorated when he went undercover, he loved the normalcy of his life and sometimes, after visiting the dark side, he needed a reality check just to remind him that he had indeed made the best decision of his life when he’d chosen Sara and his family over a life of crime. 

He sighed once more and pulled away to look into her eyes. ‘Just… couldn’t wait to get home to you’ he admitted with a warm smile.

He took a step back, getting a better look at his wife who was wearing a little black cocktail dress he’d never seen before. She was all dressed up, looking great and for a moment, he wondered why.

‘You look… hot’ he commented as he looked her up and down. ‘Am I missing something?’

‘Dinner… with the Burkes’ she reminded him.

His face lit up as he recalled their dinner date. ‘Shit! I completely forgot.’

‘Well, you’ve got twenty minutes to get ready’ she said. ‘Mozzie will be here soon and I told El we’d meet them at the restaurant for drinks at six.’

Neal nodded and was preparing to sprint up the stairs when Liam appeared, making a mad dash in his direction.

‘Daddy!’ he called out, throwing his arms around Neal’s legs and squeezing. ‘Where were you?’

Liam’s relationship with his dad was all puppies and rainbows and Sara watched as Neal scooped him up and held him in his arms, another terrific reminder of his wonderful existence. 

‘Hey buddy!’ he said as he hugged him.

Liam grimaced and gingerly touched his dad’s gelled up hair. ’Why is your hair all gooey?’ he asked.

Neal chuckled. ’Daddy had to pretend to be somebody else to help Uncle Peter catch a bad guy’ he replied, giving him the abridged version of his undercover job. 

Sara watched in wonder as father and son connected. Neal adored his little boy and Liam had nothing but boundless love and affection for his dad. She was going to have to come clean to Neal about their little talk and he would likely feel compelled to give Liam some simplified version of his past. She just hoped Liam’s unfailing admiration for his dad wouldn’t become a casualty of such a confession. Hope had been quite a bit older when Neal had sat down with her to confess his criminal past and that had only been after she’d accidentally found his old anklet in their bedroom closet. Liam wasn’t even four years old and would have a limited understanding of Neal’s antics during his indiscriminate youth.

She watched as the little guy instantly changed the subject, squirming to get down from Neal’s arms now that he’d gotten the hug he’d been on the hunt for.

‘Can we have pizza for dinner?’ he asked.

‘You’ll have to ask Uncle Mozzie about that’ Neal said as Sara pointed to her watch.

‘Tick tock Neal’ she said as he turned and jaunted up the stairs.

‘Back in twenty minutes’ he called out over his shoulder.

‘Seventeen!’ she shouted back as the front door opened and the cool air wafted in.

‘Uncle Mozzie!’ Liam shouted in glee.

WCWCWC

True to his word, Neal returned looking spectacular in just under twenty minutes. Sara looked him up and down as he entered the room, dressed in a tailored shirt and slacks, no tie with a jacket hanging off his perfect frame. He looked good enough to eat and Sara temporarily pushed away the enticing thought as she glanced around the kitchen at the kids and the ever present Mozzie.

‘I called us a cab’ Neal said as he breezed in to say goodnight to the kids, kissing them one by one. ‘I thought we might want to have a couple of drinks.’

Sara nodded in agreement as she reached for her coat and turned to give the babysitter some last minute instructions about bed time and acceptable snacks as Hope and Liam groaned, signalling their disapproval.

‘Don’t worry… I’ve got this’ Mozzie said, not reassuring in the least.

A car horn was heard and Neal and Sara made their way out the door to a nice dinner with their best friends, oblivious to the fact that all four of them were playing a dangerous game, the game of deception with the ones they loved.

WCWCWC

Elizabeth let her hand linger on Peter’s suit jacket realizing something must have escaped from one of his pockets down into the inside lining. She ran her hand gingerly along the edge of the lining of his breast pocket, not finding any possible escape route and, turning her attention to the outside pockets, she felt a small tear in the sheer lining on the right hand side. She could feel the item, whatever it was, moving loosely along the edge of the jacket and she pushed it along with her hand through the material until it reached the spot where it had likely escaped from.

Ripping the lining a little more in order to get a couple of her adept fingers in, she was finally able to reach the item, her eyes widening in surprise as she realized the item in question was her very own wedding ring.

What was the ring doing trapped inside Peter’s jacket when he’d told her just two days earlier that it was safely at Johnson’s Jewellers undergoing a well deserved cleaning and polishing? She examined it, noting it had definitely not been cleaned and began to wonder what could possibly explain her strange discovery. Why had Peter lied to her?

She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and for a reason that wasn’t clear even to herself, she opened the bedside table and placed the ring inside.

‘Hey, it’s past five’ Peter announced as he ran in and began to undress, throwing his clothes in the nearby laundry basket.

‘I’m going to jump in the shower’ he added as he breezed out of the room towards the bathroom.

Elizabeth looked on, her brow furrowed. What the hell was going on?

WCWCWC

‘A cab was a great idea’ Sara said as she tucked into Neal’s side.

She’d been dreading telling him about her conversation with Liam and she wondered if the discussion wasn’t best left to the drive home when both of them might be feeling a little more mellow. He would be devastated to learn that the reason their son had intentionally punched another little boy was to defend his father’s honour when in fact his dad hadn’t always behaved in an honourable fashion. 

Neal had always agonized about sharing his less than stellar past with his kids. Ever since the day Hope was born, he’d worried about the inevitable moment when he’d have to come clean about the terrible things he’d done in his youth and the fact that he’d paid for his mistakes with four years of his life in a penitentiary. Of course, his misdeeds were all public record but he’d decided from the very start he wasn’t going to leave the revelation to chance. He wanted to be the one to come clean, in his words, when the time was right. But he’d always figured he had plenty of time to figure it out and when, at the age of seven, Hope had discovered his anklet in his bedroom closet, he had taken the opportunity to explain that he had worn it as part of a release program. He’d given her the basics, telling her he’d made some poor decisions growing up and that he’d gotten caught and had to purge a sentence. She had taken it in stride, hugging her dad as he explained that now, he worked with her uncle Peter at _catching_ the bad guys. She’d never mentioned it again and their relationship had not suffered from the revelation in any way. 

But Liam was so young and the words ‘bad person’ and ‘jail’ had very different connotations as evidenced by his reaction on the playground. It would be necessary to use simple language while finding a way to preserve the precious connection between father and son and the respect Liam had for his dad. Sara glanced at Neal, looking relaxed, his arm casually draped around her and sighed. Sure, he’d made mistakes but he’d paid for them in full and he’d grown into a wonderful husband and a loving and caring dad. She needed to find a way to support him through this new hurdle, one that would leave the precious relationship between her husband and her son intact.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

‘Well, we were right’ Neal said as he pulled Sara closer to him.

They had a good twenty minutes in the cab before arriving to their destination and he had been waiting all day to fill her in on the conversation he’d had with Hope that morning. 

‘It didn’t take much to get her to admit that she’d lied about her test score.'

‘What did she say… exactly?’ asked Sara, turning to face him.

‘She said she hadn’t studied enough and that she’d gotten an F but she was too embarrassed to tell us. She thought I’d be disappointed if she didn’t get to participate in the art show’ Neal explained.

Sara raised an eyebrow and looked knowingly at her husband. Whether he realized or not, there was some basis in that fear. He was so proud of Hope’s artistic accomplishments, he’d inadvertently been putting pressure on her, not realizing the adverse effects his encouragement might have.

‘Well, you _have_ been talking about the art show quite a bit. Helping her get her stuff ready... maybe she’s feeling pressured’ Sara ventured, a thought that had also crossed Neal’s mind.

He shrugged. ’I suppose…’ he admitted reluctantly.

Sara patted his arm. ’Still, it’s no reason to lie to us’ she said. 

‘I told her we would always love her and Liam, no matter what they said or did but that they had to be honest with us.’

The last few words stuck in his throat and he was so wrapped up in his own guilt that he didn’t notice the knowing look in Sara’s eyes as she continued to wait for him to come clean about his own deception.

‘But there’s more’ Neal said, his voice growing quiet. ‘She got Olivia to forge my signature on her test paper so we wouldn’t find out.’

‘You’re kidding!’ Sara said, disappointed.

She wanted to say that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree but she held back. Neal had done his penance for his crimes and he didn’t need constant reminders of his not so illustrious past.

‘We can’t let her get away with that’ she said instead.

‘Tell me about it!’ he replied, thinking that as cons went this one was fairly mild but realizing it could lead to other much more serious transgressions if they didn’t intervene right away.

‘I told her she needed to tell you what happened and apologize to you and she promised she would make it up by Christmas’ Neal said with a laboured sigh.

He hated doling out punishment of any kind but there were consequences to every action and he knew that more than anyone. He looked over at Sara for inspiration as far as a logical consequence for their daughter’s actions. That was his wife’s forte and they always worked hard at finding a consequence that was in line with the infraction.

‘Well, she hasn’t confessed yet but she and Olivia studied most of the afternoon. I think we should get her to put in an extra thirty minutes of studying every night until Christmas. And I think we should ask for a meeting with Mrs. Hines so she can explain herself.’

Neal nodded in agreement and followed it up with a loud sigh. He hated having to punish his kids but in this case, the punishment seemed to fit the crime. Lessons were hard learned but not having consequences led to more serious infractions as he knew all too well. He didn’t want his children going down that path.

‘By the way, how did your meeting go?’ Sara asked, opening the door to an admission about Alex.

He looked into her eyes, the surrounding city lights making them shine like emeralds.

‘They hired me to oversee the thefts and to help fence some goods. Peter and I are going to talk about it later and see how we want to work it’ he said.

‘You seemed upset when you got back.’

He shrugged and she felt his arm tighten around her shoulder. ‘You know, every time I step into that universe, I thank my lucky stars I’m not a part of it anymore. You and the kids... I never want to lose what we’ve got.’

Sara waited for his confession but it didn’t come. 

WCWCWC

Neal and Peter huddled together in the bar adjacent to the restaurant while Sara and El sat nearby, chatting as they waited for their table. They passed the time filling each other in on the week’s activities, everyone a little quieter than usual as all their secrets and the potential fallout of keeping them continued to haunt them.

The men were deep in conversation about the current case and Elizabeth took advantage of the distraction to lean in, whispering in Sara’s ear.

‘So, did you do anything about those pole dancing classes?’ she asked, curious.

Sara let out a giggle and Neal looked over briefly to see what was up before returning to his conversation with Peter.

‘I did’ Sara replied, her voice low. ‘I started last Tuesday night.’

‘And?’

‘It was a lot of fun!’ said Sara, animated. ‘I was a little uncomfortable at first but it’s all very ‘athletic’ and there’s none of the awkwardness I thought there’d be.’

Elizabeth wagged her eyebrows. ‘Maybe I should have joined with you.’

‘I even bumped into a neighbour of ours, Myrtle Stevens – and she’s well into her fifties’ Sara said before continuing.

‘Oh, and I told Neal I’m attending your book club on Tuesday nights for the next few weeks so you need to back me up’ she added.

Elizabeth nodded. ‘Okay, we’re reading ‘Gone Girl’ in case he asks.’

Sara frowned. ’He _did_ ask and I told him we were reading the new Stephen King novel which I happen to be reading so you’ll have to lie about that too’ Sara said.

El winked. ’Don’t worry, I got your back!’

Like a cat burglar, Neal snuck up behind up them, lacing his arms around Sara’s waist. ’So, what are you two whispering about?’ he asked as he gave her a warm hug.

‘Just girl stuff’ Elizabeth replied without missing a beat.

WCWCWC

Dinner had been great, a release from all the tension everyone had been feeling. The wine had helped in that regard and by eleven o’clock, Neal was pouring Sara into a taxi cab, glad they’d decided not to drive as he himself, settled in a little unsteadily by her side. Sara rarely over imbibed but Neal loved watching her let loose and relax, something that brought a smile to his lips. If he played his cards right, maybe he’d get lucky when they got home – but not before he told her about Alex. 

He’d decided the time was right to come clean. Sara was sufficiently mellow to hear that his ex crime partner was back in New York City and frankly, it would be a relief to get it off his chest. Of course, he wasn’t planning on telling her _everything_ but he knew that Alex’s presence was the part of the story she would be most likely to react to.

They settled in the cab, giggling like a couple of teenagers and Sara slipped her arm around Neal’s back, getting her body nice and close to his. She’d been giving it some thought and she’d decided this wasn’t the right time to tell him about Liam’s confession. She was feeling way too giddy and her mind was more focussed on how she was going to peel her husband out of those clothes the minute they got into the house.

‘Did you have a good time?’ Neal asked as he looked into her glistening eyes.

She hiccuped and followed it up with a giggle. ’The best!’

Sara was fairly predictable whenever she imbibed more than a couple of glasses of wine. She’d become playful, giddy and a victim of wandering hands syndrome. Neal had been on the receiving end of her enthusiastic groping on a few occasions over the years and he found it all very amusing. Of course, it wasn’t ideal when they weren’t alone. He checked out their cab driver, noticing him glancing in his rear view mirror at them. Great! A curious type. 

He returned his gaze to Sara who was getting that unmistakeable flirty look in her eyes. Although one of her hands was trapped behind his back, the other found its way to his thigh, lingering there for a moment before it started creeping up as if it had a mind of its own.

‘Babe…’ Neal said with a chuckle as he placed his hand on hers just as it was arriving at its destination.

He gave her a look that said _stop… don’t stop_ and she gazed back lewdly, biting her lower lip.

‘Whaaaat?’ she purred innocently.

He glanced up at the driver who was looking amused and he leaned in to whisper in her ear.

‘Babe, we’re in a city cab’ he murmured, his voice rough.

She let out a sultry moan that went straight to his groin. ’I know where we are silly’ she said as she wriggled out of his grasp.

Faster than a shooting bullet, her hand was back on his man parts and he gasped, gently removing it and placing it further down his leg. He had some business to take care of before they got to the fun and games part of the evening and he didn’t need the distraction.

‘Honey…’ he whispered. ‘I really don’t want to kill the mood here but there’s something I need to tell you. Can you hang on for just a minute?’ he asked, running his hand down her cheek.

She nodded, her eyes unfocussed and she licked her lips provocatively.

His voice caught in his throat. ’Not helping’ he murmured under his breath before soldiering on. He took one last steadying breath before speaking.

’I bumped into an old friend this week and I didn’t get a chance to mention it’ he said, trying to make it sound like a casual statement.

He grimaced, waiting for the other shoe to drop. This could go so many ways. Her reaction to his little confession could range from anger and hurt to warmth and understanding. One never knew with Sara Ellis and that, strangely, was part of her charm.

‘You mean Alex?’ she asked without batting an eye.

His jaw dropped. ’You knew?’

‘It didn’t take a genius to figure it out’ she said, her voice even and surprisingly calm. ‘I found that stupid origami flower of hers…’

Despite her relaxed mood, she could still sting like a viper.

Neal shrugged. ’I know how you feel about her and I wasn’t sure how to tell you...’ he admitted.

‘How many times are we going to go through this? I love you Caffrey… and I trust you but if you keep things from me it makes me wonder if I should.’

She _wanted_ to get pissed off but she just couldn’t be bothered. Instead, she stared into those intense blue eyes of his, bringing her gaze down to those full lips as she imagined how’d they taste pressed up against hers.

Neal continued studying her reaction, wondering why he’d hesitated to tell her the truth in the first place. Maybe because Alex had always meant trouble or maybe because, no matter what she said, Sara had never quite gotten over the kiss she’d witnessed between the two of them all those years ago.

‘I’m sorry. I should have said something sooner… I just didn’t want to upset you.’

Sara arched her perfectly groomed eyebrow in response.

‘But I suppose not telling you would probably upset you even more.’

‘Tomorrow…’ she began, her voice sultry ‘... you’re going to tell me why the hell Alex is here and what she wants from you but tonight…’

She dropped her voice, leaning in to whisper in his ear. ‘Tonight, all I want to do is get you home and out of those clothes.'

Neal let out the breath he’d been holding. ’Yes ma’am’ he said as he took her hand in his and discreetly returned it to where she’d placed it earlier.

Her eyes grew dark. ‘How many times do I have to tell you... _never_ call me ma’am’ she whispered as she placed a bruising kiss on his lips.

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

El stretched out in bed like a cat after its nap as she waited for Peter to finish up in the bathroom and make his way to bed. She had really enjoyed their night out with the Caffreys, especially the chance to catch up on everything with Sara. They didn’t get together nearly as often as they should these days what with work and the kids.

She remembered her ring in the bedside table and reached out for it, placing it on her finger with a lingering smile on her face. She’d felt naked without it and somehow, it made her feel even more connected to Peter when she had it on her hand. She wondered once more about the possible reasons Peter might have had for lying to her and the only thing that made any sense, considering where she’d found it, was that he’d somehow thought he’d lost it and wasn’t sure how to tell her.

Poor Peter! If that was the case, he must have been really worried to actually lie to her. Except for refraining from sharing certain details on cases, she couldn’t remember Peter ever having deceived her in the past. She decided it was time to put him out of his misery.

He appeared in the doorway, looking eager and energized. She’d been giving him all the right signals on the way home, caressing his hand as he drove, speaking softly and lovingly and he’d taken extra care to brush his teeth and put on what he knew to be her favourite sleep pants, the silky ones that slipped off so easily. 

She gave him a welcoming smile, pulling back the covers and putting out her arms for him, an invitation he willingly accepted as he slipped in bed beside her.

‘That was fun tonight, wasn’t it?’ he said as she curled up against him.

‘Yeah, except you guys had said you wouldn’t talk about the case’ she said grudgingly.

‘Neal’s made contact with the Sullivans and we wanted to get our strategy worked out’ he replied, not wanting to break the mood.

He followed it up with a lingering kiss on her neck, right behind her ear.

‘Mmmm’ she moaned, placing her hand on his face to bring it closer to hers.

And that’s when Peter spotted it. Plain as day on her finger.

‘What....’ he began as he took in the playful look in her eyes.

‘Do you want to tell me what this is all about’ she asked sweetly as she held out her hand for him to see.

‘What... Where...’ Peter mumbled as he took in the sight of the ring.

‘I found it in the lining of your jacket’ she explained.

‘Oh, my God! Honey, you have no idea how worried I've been... I’ve been searching _everywhere_ for that thing’ he finally admitted, returning to his senses.

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ she asked.

Peter felt his breathing return to normal. ‘I knew you’d be upset and I figured… eventually, I’d find it’ he confessed, looking around to make sure she wasn’t preparing to pull a rolling pin out from under the bed.

She scoffed. ’Honey, you should have told me. Things happen, I know that.’

Considering her present circumstance, she knew, more than anyone, that _things_ happened so who was she to give him a hard time for such a small indiscretion, especially since his intention had been to keep her from getting upset.

‘I just didn’t want you to get upset… I’m sorry’ he said, his hand lingering on her cheek.

‘Well, I’m just glad I got it back, that’s all’ she said, looking down at the ring with relief.

She took one look at his worried face and pulled him in for a long, drawn out kiss. ’Come here, you silly man!’

It was Peter’s turn to smile. 

WCWCWC

Sara turned in bed and forced one eye open which as it turned out, was pretty painful. She spotted Neal, lying on his side, head up on his elbow looking down fondly at her.

‘Well, good morning Gypsy Rose’ he said with an amused smile on his face.

She frowned and even that small movement made her head ache as the events of the night before slowly came into focus. She remembered it all but it was shrouded in a haze of good Italian red. She gave her husband a quizzical look at the nickname he’d just used as everything suddenly came flooding back. 

When they’d finally made it home, she had a vague recollection of checking the kids bedroom doors before locking theirs and beginning her promised assault on her very willing husband. She remembered pushing him down on the bed and watching his surprised face as she’d begun to strip off her clothes, slowly and suggestively, dancing provocatively to some song from her pole dancing class playing in her head. She had never actually stripped for him before, at least not that she could remember. It took a lot of confidence (or wine) to stand there in front of the man you loved and reveal yourself, inch by inch, unhurried, while he lay there enjoying the show. She remembered Neal finally getting impatient and grabbing her mid-move, pulling her down on the bed and finally having his way with her, groping her like some teenager let loose at a peep show. The rest was a mere hazy recollection but she guessed from the current look on his face that the result had been more than satisfying.

‘Where the hell did you learn to do what you did last night’ he murmured as he kissed the swell of her breast. ‘And more importantly… why haven’t you done it before?’

Despite the pounding in her head, Sara smiled at him, amused.

‘I would _love_ a repeat performance’ he said with an eyebrow wag. ’But I think I hear Liam moving around out there so I better get going on breakfast. You can lie here for a while and recover from your... little show.’

She frowned again, remembering a particularly daring move. That was going to be sore this morning. 

Her mind turned to Liam. She still hadn’t told Neal about their little tête à tête and she definitely needed a coffee or two or three before she could share it with him in any coherent fashion. She looked up at him, slightly embarrassed as more details from her little performance began to form in her hazy mind and Neal gave her one last lustful look before he dragged himself out of bed.

He could hear Liam moving around outside their bedroom door, probably waiting for his dad to make an appearance. After a couple of embarrassing situations, they’d sat both kids down and read them the riot act: closed door meant you stayed out. Neal opened the door, finding Liam standing right there, his ear right up against the door.

‘Liam!’ he cried out, surprised to find him there. ‘What are you doing?’

‘I was listening to see if you were getting up’ he said, looking up at his dad.

‘Buddy, you don’t listen at the door! Mommy and I close our door when we want some time alone. You sticking your ear against the door kind of defeats the purpose’ he said, taking his son’s hand and leading him towards the staircase.

‘You want to help me make some pancakes?’ he asked as they started down towards the kitchen.

Liam nodded enthusiastically. They arrived in the kitchen and Neal did a double take as he spotted Mozzie snoozing on the hide-a-bed in the family room.

‘Moz!’ he yelled out in surprise as the older man lifted his head reluctantly and reached for his glasses. ‘I totally forgot you’d slept here.’

‘That was obvious last night’ Mozzie said cryptically as he dragged himself unenthusiastically out of bed.

‘What time is it, anyway?’ he added, clearly displeased at having his beauty sleep interrupted.

‘The time people who have kids get up on a Sunday morning’ Neal replied, deadpan.

The two men joined forces and began to get things ready for breakfast, the usual eggs, bacon and pancakes and Liam looked from his dad to his godfather, pleased to be part of the exclusive men’s club. By the time Sara and Hope made it downstairs, everything was laid out on the table ready to be eaten and the place smelled great. Sara made a direct beeline for the coffee pot, frowning at the other offerings as she rubbed her back absent-mindedly. Neal watched with interest; he knew exactly which move had caused that twinge.

Hope sat, eating in silence. Ever since her little talk with her dad, she’d been waiting for the verdict on her punishment, hoping it wouldn’t be too severe.

‘What’s everybody up to today?’ asked Mozzie, unaware of all the unsaid things floating in the air.

‘Well, I thought I’d head over to the hardware store and see if I could pick up a few things for the Christmas contest’ said Neal, looking at Liam. ‘You want to come along, buddy?’

Liam nodded, a big smile on his face. He loved having his dad’s undivided attention.

The troops dispersed, leaving Mozzie and Neal to clean up – something Mozzie had learn to accept as part of the deal if he was going to spend half his life (and eat most of his meals) at the Caffrey home.They had just gotten a start on rinsing the dishes when Mozzie spotted a book lying on the kitchen counter.

‘You reading ‘Revival’?’ he asked, pointing to the Stephen King novel.

‘No, Sara is. It’s for your book club. Aren’t you part of that group?’ Neal asked as he continued to work.

‘Yeah. But we’re not reading this, we’re reading ‘Gone Girl’’ Mozzie replied.

‘Are you sure?’ Neal asked, his curiosity piqued.

Mozzie gave him an eye roll. ‘Neal, I think I know what book we’re discussing at _my own_ book club!’ he said, indignant.

‘Well, technically, isn’t it El’s book club?’ Neal asked, intrigued.

Why would Sara lie about what book they were reading... unless she wasn’t really going to El’s book club. His always suspicious mind began to roam, wondering what Sara could possibly be hiding that would necessitate a lie about something so innocuous. He would need to do a little digging. After all, he was as skilled at unearthing other people’s deceptions as he was at keeping his own secrets.

Liam came down, dressed and ready to go, his clothing slightly askew, his shoes untied – definitely a DIY job. 

‘Daddy, I’m ready’ he announced proudly.

‘Whoa, give a minute, buddy! I’ve got to run up and take a shower. Why don’t you help Uncle Mozzie finish up with the cleaning?’ he said leaving his son and best buddy behind. 

WCWCWC

Neal was sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling on his socks when Sara walked in, towel around her body, looking very hot – but feeling pretty sore.

‘Feeling better?’ he asked as he looked her up and down.

She shrugged. It would take a lot more than a hot shower to get rid of all those kinks that were popping up. So much for being forty and acting like a twenty-year-old.

She sat next to Neal and took his hand, suddenly serious and he looked over at her, puzzled.

‘What?’ he asked.

‘Neal, yesterday Liam and I had a little talk and he finally told me what happened with Caleb. You need to hear this.’

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

Neal looked over at his wife and held his breath, waiting for her to continue. Whatever Liam had confided had obviously been unexpected, maybe even upsetting if he judged by the look on her face.

‘What did he say?’ he asked, apprehensive.

‘Apparently, this Caleb kid’s got some nasty, gossipy parents’ Sara began, not quite sure how to break the news.

She took a deep breath and continued. ‘This kid told Liam that you were a thief and that you’d gone to prison’ she finally said.

‘No…’ Neal murmured, his eyes growing sad.

As far as worse case scenarios went, this was possibly at the top of the list for the ex-con. He knew the day would come when he’d have to come clean to Liam but, as had been the case with Hope, he’d expected it would happen later, not when his son was just a little guy. He shook his head in disbelief as Sara squeezed his hand in a show of support.

‘Honey, you knew this day would come’ she said sympathetically.

‘Yeah, but... Sara, he’s only three years old. What could I possibly tell him that he could understand without him thinking I’m some sort of a... fraud’ he said, his voice quiet as the full impact of the revelation hit home.

‘Neal, you’re _not_ a fraud’ she said, her eyes seeking his. ‘You’re an amazing dad and you’ve been there for me and the kids since day one.’

Neal gave her a weak, unconvinced smile as he raised his eyebrows in scepticism. He was terrified this knowledge would somehow alter the amazing, uncomplicated relationship he had with his son – the little boy who looked up to him and thought he could do no wrong. His kids were his world and his deepest fear when it came to them knowing the truth about his past was that it would somehow destroy their trusting and loving relationship.

‘Honey, look at Hope. She’s never mentioned it again and she never for one minute stopped thinking about you as her strong, wonderful daddy. It’ll be the same for him’ Sara said in an attempt to bring her husband out of his funk.

Neal shook his head. ‘Hope was almost seven years old when I told her and she was more interested in how the anklet worked.’

‘I know you’ll find the right words. Just… keep it simple, just the basic truth and how you’ve learned from your mistakes. He can relate to _that_ ’ Sara said lovingly.

She hated to see her husband like this. He’d done his penance years ago and he’d deserved to have a fresh new start. He was not the man he’d been back then. He’d evolved into a loving, caring husband and father who put the needs of his family ahead of his own and she couldn’t stand seeing him continually suffering for the misdeeds from his past.

He stared off into space, looking forlorn and she could almost hear him thinking.

‘Why don’t we do it together? That way — ’

‘No, I’ll do it’ he interrupted. ‘We’re getting ready to go to the store – I’ll see if the time is right...’

‘Just be casual about it’ Sara said in one last attempt at encouragement. She put her arm around him and began gently rubbing his back. ‘Honey, you’re his dad and he loves you. That’s not going to suddenly change.'

Neal nodded, resolute. He’d find a way – after all, they didn’t call him Mr. Silver Tongue for nothing. Although he’d never hesitated to con his marks back in the day, this was his son and it mattered very much what the little boy thought of him. He leaned down and slipped on the sock he was still holding in his hand and rose resolutely to stand by the bed. He looked down at Sara, still sitting there dripping from her shower and he gave her a small nod.

‘We’ll be back in a little while’ he said as he headed down to join his son.

WCWCWC

‘Studying again!’ said Sara as she glanced over at Hope, hunched over the kitchen table.

Hope nodded without looking up. Although she suspected her dad had spilled the beans, she still hadn’t come clean _or_ apologized to her mom. Sara reached into the kitchen cupboard, grabbing some Tylenol for her throbbing headache and sat down next to her daughter, waiting for the inevitable confession. Hope could feel her mom’s eyes boring into her and after a few uncomfortable moments, she looked up, her eyes full of tears.

‘Daddy told you, didn’t he?’ she finally asked although she could pretty well guess at the answer.

‘Daddy and I tell each other everything’ Sara reminded her.

‘I’m sorry, Mom’ Hope said, her voice choked. ‘I was afraid you’d be mad at me.’

Sara reacted in her usual, no nonsense way. ’Of course I’m mad at you but I’m even angrier that you lied about it!’ she said, her voice louder than she’d intended.

Like her mom, Hope was fiery and headstrong and she didn’t cry easily but Sara’s sudden outburst seemed to act as a trigger and combined with the guilt she’d been feeling, brought on an avalanche of tears that were totally unexpected by both mother and daughter.

‘I’m sorry honey. I didn’t mean to raise my voice like that.’

Hope shrugged and sniffled. She knew she more than deserved the rebuke and she prepared for what was likely the announcement of her punishment for her lack of judgement and her dishonesty. 

‘Daddy and I talked it over and we decided that you needed to apologize to Mrs. Hines.’

Hope’s eyes grew and she let out a sob but she nodded all the same.

‘And we think you need to buckle down and put in an extra half hour of math homework every day until Christmas’ Sara explained, her voice calmer.

‘Every day?’ Hope repeated with alarm.

Sara stared her down in silence.

‘Okay… fine’ said Hope resolutely. 

‘I called the school and made an appointment to meet with Mrs. Hines on Monday after school. Daddy and I will meet you there’ Sara added.

Hope looked at her pleadingly – the humiliation of having to come clean to her favourite teacher was almost too much to bear and she opened her mouth to protest. She immediately thought better of it as she spied the determined look in her mother’s eyes and she simply nodded in agreement. 

‘Now, finish your homework and I’ll take you out to lunch’ Sara said, placing a small kiss on the forehead.

WCWCWC

‘Daddy! Look at that one!’ Liam shouted out as he pointed to a huge Frosty in the store’s Christmas display.

It was late November and the stores were filled with decorations, tempting unsuspecting customers as they went about their Christmas shopping. Meadowbrook Street in White Plains had the long-standing tradition of holding an annual home decorating contest, a competition which appealed to Neal’s competitive streak and he’d been happily taking part in the contest every year since they’d bought their house. Neighbours competed for bragging rights and Neal had plunged in head first trying to outdo all his neighbours – especially his buddy, Jeff Mason, who was his main competition. The previous year, Neal had suffered an unfortunate run in with the sharp end of a knife and thanks to some help from Jeff and a couple of the guys on the street, he’d managed to participate. This year, he was looking forward to doing things on his own.

He absentmindedly picked through a display of Christmas lights, watching Liam out of the corner of his eye. He’d insisted on sitting in the shopping cart although he was getting much too big for that sort of thing. He watched the little guy’s eyes, bright with curiosity as he took in the colourful decorations around them. Was he about to shatter his son’s illusions about his loving dad?

‘What do you think of these?’ he asked as he held up a set of lights. ‘They blink.’

Liam nodded, a big smile on his face as he took the item from his dad and placed it behind him in the shopping cart.

‘So…’ Neal began. It was now or never. If he didn’t broach the subject, it would weigh on him until he finally did. It was time to take the plunge. ‘Mommy told me about what happened with Caleb.’

He noticed Liam’s eyes looking away, still unaware that there was any truth to the terrible rumours he’d heard. Neal waited until he had his full attention before continuing. He leaned up against the shopping cart, locking eyes with him.

‘Liam, what you did was wrong but I know you punched him because you thought he was telling you a lie about me.’

Liam kept his eyes riveted on his daddy’s baby blues as Neal continued with his confession.

‘But the thing is… it wasn’t _completely_ a lie. I _did_ do some bad things a long time ago and I got caught’ he explained, speaking slow and deliberately.

Liam looked puzzled for a brief moment as he tried to compute the term ‘bad things’ and suddenly his three-year-old mind conjured up a recent memory.

‘You mean like when I broke Grandma June’s vase?’ he said, recalling the afternoon not so long ago when he’d gotten excited and had accidentally knocked over one of June’s prized heirlooms.

‘Yeah…’ Neal replied. ‘Kind of like that.’

He was grateful for the analogy, seizing on the moment to make a comparison a little guy like Liam could relate to and understand.

‘And what did we do when you broke the vase?’ he asked.

‘Time out’ Liam murmured, his eyes looking away.

‘That’s right. We gave you a time out so you could calm down and think about what you did.'

Liam appeared deep in thought as he recalled the consequences of his actions that day.

‘But the things _I_ did were grown-up bad things and when you’re a grown-up, instead of being sent to your room for a time out, they put you in jail if you do something bad’ Neal explained, the words flowing more easily now.

Liam listened, his eyes wide.

‘So I had to go to jail for a while until I promised to stop doing those bad things and then, they let me out’ Neal explained, his heart beating so hard he could feel it pounding in his chest.

He prepared for an avalanche of questions, Liam’s eyes hard at work computing this new information.

‘Did you have to stay in jail more than this many?’ Liam asked, holding up the five fingers of his right hand.

Neal let out a choked laugh. ’Yeah, buddy, more than that many’ he said with a small smile. ‘But I learned my lesson and I stopped doing bad things. That’s the important part.’

Liam’s little face scrunched up tight as he formulated another question. ‘Do you have to go back?’

Neal sighed. Of course, for a little guy who loved his daddy, this would be his worse fear.

‘No!’ he said without hesitation. ‘I’m never going back to jail. You _never_ have to worry about that, okay? I will always be here for you.’

At this, Liam relaxed, his gaze wandering to something on the store shelf, his attention span apparently having hit its limit.

‘Daddy, can we buy those?’ he asked, pointing to a box of candy canes on a nearby shelf.

Neal let out an uneven breath, realizing the little guy was ready to move on. What to him had been a major confession was but a passing and innocuous piece of information for his son who wouldn’t fully understand the implications of his dad’s crimes and incarceration for years to come. Maybe he’d have questions later, maybe not. But for the time being, he seemed reassured and Neal resolved to be there to help him through, to calm his fears and reassure him that he would always be there for him.

‘Sure buddy’ he said as he ruffled his son’s hair.

TBC


	19. Chapter 19

The phone rang in the Caffrey household just as mother and daughter were finishing up their little chat.

‘Sara!’ Mozzie’s voice said, even more shrill than usual.

‘Hey Moz. Neal’s not here right now...’ she replied.

‘No, I need to talk to you’ came the unexpected answer.

‘Okay’ Sara said as she sat down next to Hope at the kitchen table.

‘I need you to hold off on that lead I gave you about that Matisse’ he said, his voice high pitched.

‘But Mozzie, that’s going down tomorrow and I’ve already got my best investigator on the case’ she replied, flustered. That damn headache was really hanging on.

Sara had seen this recovery as a way for Lydia Wilson to redeem herself following her disastrous repossession attempt the week before and she’d given her the lead Mozzie had passed on to her about Eddie fencing a Matisse. Up until three months ago, the painting had been hanging in the Stedelijk Museum, in Amsterdam, one of Sterling Bosch’s most elite clients.

‘No Sara!’ he all but screamed into the phone.

‘You’re going to have to give me a good reason to pull back, Mozzie. This is a big recovery for us’ she said, none too pleased.

Mozzie stuttered on the other end, not wanting to reveal too much and yet needing to convey to Sara the absolute necessity that she hold off doing anything that could jeopardize the already delicate situation between Eddie and Elizabeth.

‘If you do this, it could really hurt someone we both care about’ he blurted out cryptically.

Sara listened, trying to decode the strange statement. Had Neal gotten himself into some sort of trouble with Eddie – and did this have anything to do with the Sullivan case or with Alex?

‘Neal?’ she asked, unable to hold back.

‘I’m not at liberty to say’ Mozzie said mysteriously.

She let out a sigh. ‘Really Mozzie? You’re asking an awful lot here.’

‘I’ll make it up to you, I promise’ he said. ‘I’ll put out some feelers and I’ll find you another swap.’

‘All right’ she agreed grudgingly although she still wasn’t sure what this was all about.

Mozzie thanked her and hung up, turning to face Elizabeth who was standing beside him, nervously holding her breath.

‘Does she know anything?’ she asked anxiously.

‘No. She thinks it has something to do with Neal’ he replied.

Elizabeth glanced nervously around the safe house. She’d never been to this one although Mozzie had trusted her enough to have her in two of his other hideaways, something that was reserved for very urgent situations or very trusted friends – and this situation was both.

‘Look, go home and let me do my thing’ he said. ‘I’m meeting with Rusty Jerome in an hour.’

She looked at him quizzically.

‘He’s one of the best connected fences out there. I’ll see if he has a market for any of the stuff I’ve got to sell’ Mozzie said, now eager for Elizabeth to leave and give him his space.

‘Mozzie, I’m sorry I dragged you into this’ she said tearfully.

He touched her arm lovingly as he slowly led her to the door. ‘You’d do the same for me’ he said with a smile.

‘Now go’ he insisted as she turned back and gave him one last nervous glance.

WCWCWC

‘That’ll be $48.63’ said the woman at the cash as Neal took out his wallet.

He was breathing so much easier since his little chat with Liam and although he knew the story was far from over, he had broken the ice and the subject of his sordid past was now out in the open. He felt a hand on his arm and looked up, spotting Myrtle Stevens, their next door neighbour, standing right behind him in the line-up.

‘Hi Neal’ she said, smiling.

‘Myrtle, hey how are you?’ he replied as Liam looked on, sucking on a candy cane.

‘Great! I see you’re getting ready for the big competition’ she said as she glanced at Neal’s purchases laid out by the cash register.

‘Yeah!’ Neal replied enthusiastically. ‘How’s Charlie doing? I heard he hurt his back.’

‘He did. He’ll be fine in a few weeks but he may not be able to compete this year. I don’t want him injuring himself even more’ she said, her kind face smiling back at Neal.

Neal retrieved his credit card from the cashier and turned to leave just as Myrtle spoke once more.

‘How’s Sara enjoying the class?’ she asked as Neal looked on, curious.

Class? What class? Sara wasn’t taking any class that he knew of. He suddenly remembered his odd exchange with Mozzie earlier in the day and wondered if this had anything to do with where Sara had disappeared to last Tuesday night now that he knew she hadn’t been at the book club.

‘She likes it’ he fibbed, hoping to get her to say more.

But it was Myrtle’s turn at the cash and she quickly became distracted, waving him off and wishing him and Liam a good day. Neal turned away disappointed he hadn’t been able to get more information from the woman. He’d have to find some other way of figuring out what Sara was up to.

He had just settled Liam in his booster seat and gotten himself situated behind the wheel when his phone rang. It was Alex Hunter, thief extraordinaire.

‘Neal, have you given our conversation any thought?’ she asked, sounding just as anxious as she had earlier in the week.

‘Alex… I told you, I’m working with Peter to bring down the Sullivans. I can’t get involved in helping you’ he said as he glanced in the rear-view mirror, spotting Liam happily looking out the car window.

Truth was, after the conversation he’d just had with his son, he was more determined than ever to keep his nose clean no matter how much pressure Alex put on him. He had just promised his little boy that he would always be there for him and the only way he could make sure of that was to stay out of any situation that could come back to bite him in the ass.

‘But, Neal...’ she began.

‘Alex, I have a family. You can’t ask me to do anything that would jeopardize that. I’m sorry – those days are over’ he said firmly, taking in the smile his son had just flashed him in the rear view mirror.

‘But, will you keep me posted if you hear anything that could help me. I don’t want to go back to prison – I just got out’ she pleaded.

Neal agreed reluctantly to keep her in the loop if he heard anything that might be of use to her and he hung up, feeling very good about having withstood the pressure she’d was putting on him. It was going to make things a lot easier to explain to Sara – a discussion he knew he couldn’t avoid much longer.

‘So, want to go show Mommy what we bought?’ asked Neal as he flashed a smile to his little boy.

WCWCWC

Mozzie waited patiently on the street corner for Rusty to arrive. He and the fence had a good, solid relationship and he was one of the few fences Mozzie had any respect for. He hoped the man would be in the market for a few choice items, maybe even that Manet he hated to part with. He’d grown attached to the painting and although he knew it was worth a bundle, it would only return a small percentage of its value once fenced.

He finally spotted the large man making his way towards him and prepared to negotiate the deal of a lifetime.

WCWCWC

Neal stepped into the house, noticing how quiet it was. He carried a sleeping Liam in his arms as he started on his search for his wife and daughter. He found Sara sitting on the couch reading her Stephen King novel and she smiled as she spotted her snoozing son snuggled in Neal’s arms.

‘Hi’ she whispered. ‘Little guy’s all tuckered out, huh?’

Neal lay his sleeping son at one end of the couch, covering him up with a nearby blanket and took a seat next to Sara, pointing to the book on her lap.

‘Getting ready for your book club?’ he asked as he settled in next to her.

Sara lowered her eyes, unable to make eye contact with her husband as she spoke. ‘Yeah’ she lied before setting it aside.

‘So… how did it go?’ she asked, pointing in the direction of their slumbering son.

‘Good’ said Neal, sounding relieved. ‘You were right, he didn’t need an awful lot of details and he just carried on talking about something else as if we’d just been talking about the weather. I think he was more worried that I might be going back to prison…’

Sara looked on sympathetically and sighed. ‘What did you tell him?’

‘That he never had to worry about that. That I was never going back.’

She took his hand in hers. ‘I told you, the kids are crazy about you. All they care about is who you are right now, not what you did ten years ago.’

He nodded in agreement – Sara was almost always right about these things and he decided he should really give her more credit when it came to understanding their kids.

‘So, Alex...’ she said, looking into her husband’s eyes.

He stared back, in silence. He’d been hoping she’d let it go although deep down, he knew better.

In response to his silence, Sara continued. ’What? Did you think I’d forget what happened in the cab last night?’

‘You mean…’ Neal said with a naughty eyebrow wag, a desperate attempt at deflection.

She slapped his arm playfully. ‘Not that. Come on Caffrey… Alex.’

He sighed and prepared to spill the beans. ‘She showed up this week out of the blue and before you ask, yes, I did meet her for lunch to find out what she wanted’ he admitted, needing to get that detail out on the table.

‘And?’ she asked.

‘She says she’s being blackmailed into doing a job for a mob family’ he began.

‘Blackmailed?’

‘They have evidence of her pulling a job in Miami a few months back and they’ve threatened to turn her in if she doesn’t do this job for them’ he explained.

Sara just stared, her eyes wide, as she waited for the rest of the story.

‘She wanted my help with setting up the heist’ he finally admitted.

‘Neal!’ Sara said a little too loudly, causing Liam to jerk in his sleep.

‘Before you go all crazy on me...’ he said. ‘I told her absolutely not – especially after I found out the mob family that’s blackmailing her is the Sullivans.’

‘You’re kidding’ exclaimed Sara in a whisper. ‘The family you’re going undercover with?’

He nodded.

‘But she’s gonna get caught.’

‘That’s what I told her but she feels she doesn’t a choice.’

Sara studied his face. ’And you really told her you wouldn’t have anything to do with it – even after all you two have meant to each other...’

‘Whoa, whoa – hold on a minute’ he said with a frown. ‘Alex hasn’t _meant_ anything to me in a very long time. Sure, she’s had my back in the past and we’ve had some good times but... that was a long time ago... and besides, that’s not who I am anymore.’

‘Have you told Peter?’

‘No’ Neal admitted as he looked away. ‘I’m not sure what to do about that.’

‘Well, don’t go putting yourself in a situation where you could get arrested’ she warned with a pointed Sara glare.

Neal brought his arm to rest around her shoulder. ’Don’t worry. After the talk I just had with Liam, I’m not about to do anything stupid.’

Sara nodded, pleased with the answer. ‘Next time, will you please just tell me when something like this happens.’

He got a devilish grin on his face. ‘You’re still jealous about that kiss, aren’t you?’ he asked, jostling her as he spoke.

‘NO!’ she answered adamantly.

He laughed as he took in the sight of ‘jealous’ Sara who didn’t come out to play very often. It was nice to see the green-eyed monster come out every once in a while. He leaned over to give her a warm, loving kiss and he felt her shiver.

‘Where’s Hope?’ he asked, suddenly aware of her absence.

‘Over at Olivia’s’ Sara replied with a gleam in her eye.

‘So, you feeling all better now?’ he murmured, his hand lingering suggestively down her arm. ‘Maybe you can give me a repeat performance of last night…’

She gave him a comely smile and cocked her head in the direction of their sleeping son.

‘He’ll be out for a good hour’ he said as he pulled her off the couch and chased her up the stairs.

TBC


	20. Chapter 20

Mozzie watched as Rusty walked towards him on the busy street. It was mid-afternoon, a fairly decent late November day with people out visiting cafés and shopping as the Christmas season drew near. Rusty ambled over, his red hair atop his large frame, his face serious as it always was when preparing to discuss business. The man was the most trustworthy fence Mozzie and Neal had ever encountered, known as a straight shooter who always negotiated in good faith. He had a wide array of clients and he never haggled about the twenty percent he kept on any given fenced item. People came to him in droves and he was making a very good living at what he did best.

‘Mozzie!’ he called out as he got closer to the little man.

‘Rusty… long time’ Mozzie said in greeting.

Rusty was a man of few words and that was the extent of the socializing he would put up with. He dove right into the reason for the meet.

‘You have something for me?’ he asked as Mozzie prepared to take out his phone.

‘I have a variety of goods but I’m in a hurry to get my hands on some cash’ Mozzie explained as he led with the main feature, the Manet.

It was a piece called _‘The Bar at the Folies Bergère’_ and it depicted a young woman standing at a bar, ostensibly waiting to serve the next patron, with bottles surrounding her and a reflection of the floor show visible in the mirror behind her. Mozzie had been in possession of the piece for a very long time and although he didn’t remember exactly where it had come from originally, it dated back to a heist he and Neal had pulled in Europe back in their glory days. He’d had it hanging in his favourite safe house for years and he hated to part with it. But this was Elizabeth and he had to pull out all the stops in order to get her out of the mess she was in.

‘Oh, that’s a nice one Mozzie’ said Rusty as he glanced at the picture Mozzie had taken, his glasses solidly on the tip of his nose.

Mozzie looked on, gauging the fence’s reaction. ‘What do you think you can get for it?’ he asked.

‘A fair bit… but it’s a very specialized market. I do have a client who’s very big on the Impressionists, especially Manet, but I’d have to reach out and it could take a few days before I know anything.’

Mozzie’s face suddenly turned a dark shade of red and he spoke a little louder than he’d meant to. ‘But this is an emergency. I need cash NOW!’

Rusty shook his head. ‘Mozzie, it’s a fucking Manet. I’m not going to be able to fence it in a couple of hours! I’ve got to get the word out and find a buyer, agree on a price, set up the meet... you know how this all works.’

Mozzie looked on concerned and moved on to the many other lesser known pieces he was willing to part with. Rusty examined the pictures one by one on Mozzie’s phone, commenting on each piece, its potential value and the speed with which he would be able to fence the various items.

In a spiteful move, Eddie had called in the totality of the loan, bringing the amount owed to over $100,000 when you added the twenty-five percent interest and late charges on El’s last (as yet unpaid) monthly instalment. He’d declared that she was more trouble than she was worth and he didn’t want to deal with monthly payment any longer. He wanted all that was due to him and he wanted it now. 

As Rusty continued to check out the goods Mozzie had on offer, the little guy began to realize that, without the Manet in play, it would be almost impossible to get his hands on that kind of cash in less than twenty-four hours. He worried that if he couldn’t get his hands on the cash, El might be on the receiving end of a return visit from Eddie’s thugs. It was not beyond Eddie to get physical and just the thought of harm coming to Elizabeth made him cringe.

Rusty agreed to give Mozzie a healthy deposit on the goods upon delivery. The fence knew he would be able to cash in on most of the items within the next day or two. He had a long list of regular customers who were always on the lookout for specific items and all he had to do when he got home was take out his trusted Rolodex and start making some calls. He agreed to advance Mozzie $50,000 as a deposit and they shook hands on the deal and parted ways so Mozzie could return to his storage facility and start assembling the required loot for delivery to Rusty by seven o’clock that night.

It was a start, thought Mozzie as he scurried away.

WCWCWC

By eight o’clock that night, the transaction was complete and Mozzie stood on the front porch of the Caffrey home. He was feeling rattled and he needed to talk to Neal about the situation. Maybe his ex-partner would have some suggestions on how to placate Eddie at their meeting which was scheduled for the next day.

‘Uncle Mozzie!’ Liam cried out as he spotted his uncle entering the house.

‘Hey squirt!’ Mozzie replied, taking in the sight of his godson, already in his pyjamas, ready for bed.

Sara scooped up her son and after an exchange of hugs between the little boy and his godfather, Liam kissed his daddy goodnight and was carried off to bed.

‘What are you doing here at this hour?’ Neal asked. ‘You usually like to time your visits with mealtimes.’

Mozzie rolled his eyes at the slight and followed Neal into the kitchen, taking a spot next to him at the kitchen table.

‘Actually… I still haven’t had dinner’ he said as Neal got up to fetch him some of the leftovers from their Sunday night meal.

Neal had been around the little man for so many years, he was perfectly attuned to his moods. It didn’t take a genius to see that Mozzie was a wreck. From the look of him, he’d probably managed to get himself into some kind of mess, the crazed look in his eyes even more intense that his usual level of paranoia and anxiety.

‘What’s up, Moz. You don’t look so good’ Neal said as he placed the plate of roast beef and mashed potatoes in front of Mozzie.

‘Neal, I’m in a real pickle’ the man finally admitted as he gratefully dug into the proffered meal.

Neal rolled his eyes – it wasn’t the first time nor would it be the last. Mozzie was a magnet for ‘trouble’ and it seemed to follow him everywhere he went. Sometimes he needed help but most times, he just needed to talk things through and for that, he always came to his best friend.

‘What is it this time?’ Neal asked patiently, settling in for some long convoluted explanation, as was always the case when it came to his ex-partner in crime.

‘Actually, this time, believe it or not, it’s not _my_ mess I’m cleaning up. It’s someone else’s’ Mozzie said mysteriously.

Neal sat and listened, his eyebrows cocked in skepticism at Mozzie’s affirmation. He was always downplaying his role in the many conundrums he found himself in.

Mozzie looked around, making sure Sara was out of range before he spoke. ‘It’s El’ he whispered as Neal looked on with a look of confusion.

‘El? What about her?’

‘I hooked her up with Eddie the loan shark a couple of years back when she got into some financial trouble at work’ he finally blurted out.

‘Moz! Are you kidding? Eddie? Really? The guy is the lowest of the lowlifes!’ Neal exclaimed, his voice an exaggerated whisper.

Mozzie gave him an eye roll.‘I know that... now!’ he said.

‘How much are we talking about?’ Neal asked, on the edge of his seat.

‘A hundred big ones.’

Neal’s voice grew louder. ’He lent Elizabeth 100 Gs?’

‘No!... it’s just grown into that amount with ... interest and he’s calling in the whole loan because she missed a payment.’

Neal let out a long, slow sigh which was perceived as an admonition and Mozzie instantly became defensive.

‘She was in big trouble Neal! She would have lost her business if he hadn’t lent her the money and she’s been paying it off in monthly instalments for over a year.Until now....’

‘What’s changed?’ Neal asked.

‘Look, Mrs Suit has a lot of talents, as you know, but financial management appears to be her downfall’ Mozzie explained.

‘And she hasn’t told Peter?’

Mozzie shook his head in response.

‘Why the hell not?’

‘Really Neal? How long have you known El? She’s too proud to tell him and now she’s got thugs showing up at her door and threatening to hurt her’ Mozzie screamed in a whisper.

‘Awww, Moz! How could you let this happen?’ Neal said, a look of disappointment in his eyes – as if he, himself, hadn’t acted impulsively on so many occasions over the years.

‘I had no idea until a few days ago that she was in this mess’ Mozzie replied defensively.

‘So what are you going to do about it?’

‘I’ve just turned over a ton of goods to Rusty for fencing but it’s not enough. He gave me a $50,000 advance and when he fences the stuff, there’ll be more but these thugs are coming for the whole amount tomorrow at six!’ he exclaimed, his voice growing shrill.

Neal looked nervously towards the staircase, anticipating Sara’s return at any minute.

‘What do you need from me? Do you want me to go to the meet with you?’ he asked.

Mozzie looked down at his half-eaten plate and shook his head.

‘Look, Moz. If it’s about money… I can’t give you anything unless I run it by Sara first.’

‘I don’t want your money, Neal. I just needed to get this off my chest before I burst. I’ve been telling El for a week now that she should come clean to Peter. He’s gonna find out sooner or later.’

Sara was heard coming down the stairs and the men looked up to greet her, giving her their best innocent looks.

‘He was really tired...’ she began as she took in the look on their faces. ‘What’s the matter? Did somebody die?’

‘It’s nothing’ said Neal as he walked over to where she stood, creating a distraction.

She knew Neal and Mozzie well enough to know that whatever it was, it wasn’t ‘nothing’. She’d obviously walked in on some discussion that didn’t concern her.

‘I think I’ll… go down and ... check on the laundry’ she said as she headed for the basement stairs.

Neal gave her a small smile as she turned to leave. He looked over at Mozzie, taking in the look of desolation on his face.

The man was already on his feet. ‘Look, I’m gonna go. Thanks for dinner… although the roast was a little overdone for my taste’ he said as Neal stared him down.

‘Let me know if I can do anything’ Neal said as he walked him to the door.

Mozzie gave him a forced smile. ’You just did’ he said, grateful for his friend’s undying support.

Neal glanced over his shoulder, making sure they were still alone. ’Look, Moz, I don’t mean to add to your problems but I need a small favour’ he whispered.

‘Sure, anything – you know that.’

‘Sara lied to me about going to the book club on Tuesday nights and I want to know where she’s really going’ Neal said, sounding just as paranoid as Mozzie.

‘Sure, I can find out.’

‘And let me know how it goes with Eddie’ Neal said as he opened the door to let his buddy out.

‘Goodnight Moz’ came Sara’s voice over his shoulder, leaving Neal to wonder just how long she’d been standing there.

TBC


	21. Chapter 21

Monday morning was crisp and cold as snow made its first appearance of the season; just a few wayward flakes, enough to remind everyone that the holiday season was just around the corner.

The usual domestic hubbub played out in the pretty little house on Meadowbrook Street. Sara was frantically riffling through her jewelry box for just the right pair of earrings while the kids argued about something in the distance... and Neal was preparing for his meeting with Peter and the White Collar team while he tried to play referee.

‘Whatever the two of you are arguing about, stop!’ he finally shouted in exasperation which, from the silence that ensued, seemed just enough to cool down the proceedings.

‘Now, go brush your teeth, we’re leaving in five minutes’ he exclaimed as he took control of the situation.

Sara appeared at the bottom of the stairs as her two children raced back up to follow orders, arguing about who would get up the stairs first. She looked rested and ready for her day despite the fact that she’d been up for going on two hours, making lunches and making sure the kids had everything they needed.

‘Is there a law against having them sleep in their clothes and coats?’ Neal asked as he glanced up at her.

She laughed in response. Mornings were always chaotic, especially Mondays after a couple of days off and their life was a far cry from the self-indulgent days when all they had to think about was getting themselves out the door.

‘Neal, you didn’t forget about our meeting at the school this afternoon, right?’ she said more than asked.

‘Yeah, right. That’s why Hope looks so miserable’ he finally deduced.

‘Anything on the agenda for this week I need to know about?’ he continued as he finished adjusting his tie, finally giving up and turning to Sara for help.

She began playing with the tie, getting it just right. ‘No, just my... book club tomorrow night.’

‘Oh, yeah. How’s that going anyway?’ he asked, prodding.

She turned away before answering, not wanting to look into his eyes.

‘Fine’ she answered briefly.

‘So who’s in this book club anyway?’ he asked, a dog with a bone.

‘Oh, you know...’ she began just as the kids reappeared, teeth gleaming.

‘Let’s go everybody!’ Sara called out, grateful for the distraction.

Oh well, Neal reflected as he thought of the report he’d eventually be getting from Mozzie. You can run Sara Ellis, but you can’t hide.

WCWCWC

Neal arrived at the Federal Building with just a few seconds to spare, compliments of his life as a dad. He’d made the rounds, dropping Liam off at preschool, Hope at school and finally getting himself and Sara to the train into Manhattan. Commuting was a pain in the ass, there was no doubt about it but there was no other way for a young family to make ends meet even with the excellent salaries Sara and Neal drew. Besides, although Neal had originally cringed at the thought of leaving the vibrancy and culture of Manhattan behind, he loved having a backyard, a garden and a house to cover in Christmas lights at this time of year

‘There you are!’ said Peter as Neal entered the conference room to join him, Diana and Jones.

‘What? You said nine o’clock’ Neal said, pointing to the clock on the far wall showing exactly nine on the button.

‘Yeah, but you’re usually... never mind. Take a seat. We’ve got some new intel on the Sullivans’ Peter said, deferring to Jones to provide the details.

‘They’ve been spotted casing a couple of local museums, preparing to make a move’ said Jones as he projected images of individuals from the family or their underlings snooping around the well known sites.

‘On the weekend, we spotted them on more than one occasion at the Dahesh, casing the joint’ added Diana.

‘As you all know, the Dahesh is devoted to European art from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and they’re preparing to host an exhibition of Albert Edelfelt’s works starting next week’ Peter explained.

The artist was of Finnish descent, one of the founders of the Realist art movement in Finland. Although he hadn’t been particularly prolific, his work had nonetheless been revered and the museum was hosting an exhibition of nine of his seventeen works, all extremely valuable. Neal looked on in appreciation as Jones flashed images of the paintings which would be on display at the museum. He’d always appreciated this period in history and Edelfelt’s realistic style appealed to his sense of order and style. He remembered forging one of the artist’s works – Woman and Parasol – back twenty years before and fencing it for a very tidy sum. He wasn’t about to share to that little tidbit, however.

‘Neal? Are you with us?’ Peter asked as he noticed the faraway look in the ex-con’s eyes.

‘Edelfelt’ Neal repeated without missing a beat. ‘Only seventeen works but all of them beautiful.’

‘Well, the Dahesh has gathered nine of them for this exhibit which starts next Monday. The Sullivans have mostly hit the holding tank of museums so this seems like a likely target. So far, they’ve never stolen anything from the museums proper. The curator says the paintings have begun to arrive and are being kept in the prep room’ Peter commented as the paintings continued to flash on the screen.

‘When’s your meeting with the Sullivans?’ Diana asked, turning to look at Neal.

‘This afternoon’ he answered. ‘I should find out what our first target is.’

He sensed Peter’s searing glare in his peripheral vision. 'Their… _their_ first target, I mean’ he corrected.

So far, Neal had refrained from telling Peter that Alex was in town and that she was somehow mixed up in the heists the Sullivans were planning. Although he’d refused to help her, he didn’t want her getting caught and he was still trying to find a way to keep her off the FBI’s radar.

‘So, what’s the plan?’ he asked.

Peter glanced down at the file before him. ’We can’t do anything about their drug cartel but DOJ is putting a lot of pressure on us to bring them in for theft and fencing stolen goods. That way, they’ll have an opening to move on their drug investigation.’

Neal piped up. ’What? So you’re going to crash the actual theft? In case you’ve forgotten, I’m the thief, Peter. That’s not going to give you much intel’ Neal said, realizing Alex would likely be by his side.

‘You said they wanted you to work with some local talent’ Peter said. ‘We’ll arrest you and whoever you’re working with and lean on the hired help to give them up.’

‘I don’t know, Peter...’ Neal began, the worst case scenario flashing in his mind. He didn’t want to be the one responsible for bringing Alex in. She already had a target on her back. Having her grilled by the FBI would put her in an untenable position: suffering the wrath of the Sullivans or landing herself in jail. Or even worse, both.

Not wanting to tip his hand, Neal finally shrugged in response. Maybe the Sullivans would pair him up with someone else. After all, they had mentioned they had a couple of small time thieves on their payroll they wanted Neal to work with.

By the time the meeting ended, it was almost lunchtime and Neal started to think ahead to his second meeting of the day. He made his way to the appointed spot and hoped that he wouldn’t be the one to bring Alex Hunter down.

WCWCWC

Mozzie and Elizabeth huddled together in the Burke living room, surrounded by the $50,000 in cash Mozzie had managed to get as an advance from Rusty. El had never been in presence of so much cash in her life and her eyes sparkled as she took in the pile of loot on her dining room table.

‘You okay?’ Mozzie asked as he noticed the glazed over look in her eyes.

‘Yeah, I’ve just never seen this much cash in one place at one time’ she answered, giggling nervously.

They’d only managed to get half of the amount Eddie was demanding and they were both nervous about their meeting with him which was scheduled in less than four hours. Mozzie was hopeful that cold hard cash – even though it was less than he’d been owed – would be enough to placate the loan shark for a day or two more. He was still waiting to hear from Rusty about a buyer for the Manet, even though his heart was breaking at having to part with it. He couldn’t let El know that though and he soldiered on, happy he could be of help to Mrs Suit.

‘Do you think it’ll be enough?’ she asked as she picked at the lunch she’d prepared for herself and her benefactor.

‘Hard to tell’ Mozzie replied. ‘But it’ll show him you’re serious about paying off your debt.’

He looked at the worry on El’s face and continued. ‘After this, you and I have to have a serious talk about the future of Burke Premiere Events.’

Elizabeth knew what he was getting at and she shook her head in response. ‘No Moz! I know what you’re thinking and I am _not_ telling Peter about this!’

‘So what are you going to do? Close up shop? I know how much you love your business, El.’

A drop threatened to spill from Elizabeth’s tear-filled eyes. Of course, she knew Mozzie was right. Peter had to be told if she wanted to keep Burke Premiere Events going. She’d have to ‘fess up about her lack of skill on the finance front and get someone to start keeping the books for her – properly, this time. She’d likely have to fire at least one of her staff and come up with a good strong business plan if she was going to keep the business afloat.

‘There are worse things than admitting you’re not perfect, you know’ Mozzie offered as he took her hand.

Elizabeth swallowed the lump in her throat, swallowing her pride in the process. She knew there was no other way. She’d been sufficiently scared by the sight of Eddie’s two thugs as they invaded the sanctity of their home to not want to ever go through something like that again.

Mozzie’s phone vibrated and he looked down, noticing Rusty was calling. Maybe, he dared hope, the fence had some good news.

WCWCWC

Neal made his way to the non-descript office he’d visited a few days before but this time instead of Shawn Sullivan and his young nephew Max, he walked into a roomful of people, including most of the Sullivan clan.

‘Caffrey’ said Shawn Sullivan as he stepped forward to shake his hand.

Neal removed his hat and accepted the proffered hand as he took in the motley crew which was assembled in the dank office space.

Sullivan introduced Neal to five members of his family including his brothers and his father Arthur, a man in his seventies who looked like he ruled with an iron fist although he hadn’t yet opened his mouth to speak. His aura spoke volumes, totally dominating the room and it was obvious to Neal that he was the undisputed leader of the pack, the brains behind the operation.

‘And you remember my nephew Max’ he said as he pointed to the young man, looking just as out of his element as he had the first time Neal met him.

Neal nodded in recognition. 

‘And these are the members of your staff for the operation’ he continued turning to two men and a woman standing there, waiting to be introduced.

‘Johnson and Eccles’ Shawn continued, pointing to the two men.

‘And I believe you know Alex Hunter’ he finally said as Neal turned and gave her a small knowing smile.

Alex stared Neal up and down, smiling deviously. Although he hadn’t spent any significant time with her in over ten years, he immediately recognized her cocky look, that over the top confident demeanour she liked to project even if he was pretty sure she was shaking like a bowl of jelly inside.She wore her signature leather, giving her the look of a strong, capable thief and she shook his hand, her grip strong and self-assured.

‘Nice to see you again, Caffrey’ she said.

‘Alex’ he replied.

TBC


	22. Chapter 22

The school halls were quiet when Neal and Sara arrived, making their way to the principal’s office. In the distance, they could see their daughter sitting on a bench just outside the office, her tiny legs dangling off the edge as she waited patiently to be called in to make her confession. The couple exchanged concerned looks. Poor kid looked so forlorn and lost sitting there by herself and she was about to do a very hard, grownup thing – a rite of passage into an eventually responsible life as an adult.

She finally spotted them coming and stood, her silhouette dwarfed against the light coming in from the window behind her and Neal thought again about how little she was to have to deal with such a situation. But she’d done the crime and now she had to live with the fallout.

‘Hey honey’ Sara called as they got closer.

‘Does Mrs. Hines know you’re here?’ asked Neal as all three of them settled in on the small bench to wait.

Hope nodded. Mrs. Hines had instructed her to sit and wait. She’d suggested Mr. Webster, the principal be in on the meeting, further horrifying Hope. The school had certain policies when it came to students breaking the rules and the teacher wanted her principal’s support in dealing with the situation.

Karen Hines had been very disappointed to hear of Hope’s deceit. She’d taken a real shine to the eight-year-old, becoming a big fan of her big heart and her big personality. She loved Hope's joie de vivre and her ability to be spontaneous and authentic all the while being a respectful child. She was hurting just as much as Hope at the thought of having to dole out punishment for the infraction and she was glad to have the little girl’s parents present for the meeting. She quite liked them both, especially Sara who could have easily been a friend in other circumstances.

She sat in the office, absent-mindedly rubbing her stomach as she waited for the principal to return. She was six months along in her pregnancy and as a first time mom-to-be in her forties, she was apprehensive and yet excited at the prospect. She admired how Neal and Sara Caffrey were raising their children. It had been obvious they were behind Hope’s declaration of guilt. Hopefully, she would be that kind of mom when the time came.

Mr. Webster finally breezed in, joining Mrs. Hines and asking the school secretary to instruct the family to join them.

Within seconds, Hope was seated between her parents, face to face with the school principal and her favourite teacher, ready to confess her crime. Of course, having flunked a test was not the crime. It was rather her part in having deceived the teacher into thinking her parents had been informed about her test result. She had promised herself she wouldn’t cry. She had to be brave. After all, she’d been plenty brave when she’d agreed to let Olivia forge her dad’s signature. Crying would just add to her humiliation and she looked up bravely as Mr Webster spoke.

‘Hope, you asked to see us today. What’s this all about?’ he asked although he had been fully briefed on what had transpired.

Neal and Sara exchanged glances. They both wanted to intervene but knew that their role in this situation was to support their daughter, not to speak on her behalf. That, she had to do for herself.

‘I flunked my math test and I was afraid to show my parents’ she began as Neal looked on, his heart breaking.

‘Why were you afraid to tell your parents?’ he asked, although he knew the answer – who wanted to share that kind of news with their mom and dad?

‘I really want to be in the art show after Christmas but I knew that if I flunked math, I wouldn’t get to go’ she replied stoically.

Mr. Webster nodded. ‘Mr Swain tells me you are doing exceptionally well in his art class’ he said.

Hope smiled demurely at the compliment although the praise did not help in her present predicament.

‘I let a friend of mine sign my test paper instead of my dad’ she finally said, relieved to have finally blurted out her sin.

‘That was very dishonest, Hope. I won’t pretend I’m not disappointed’ said Mrs. Hines who’d been quiet up until this point in the proceedings.

‘I’m sorry’ said Hope. ‘I shouldn’t have done that.’

‘Who is this friend?’ asked Mr Webster.

Hope just looked up in surprise. She hadn’t expected _that_ question and she sure as hell wasn’t about to rat out her best friend who had only been trying to help, however misguided she’d been.

‘Mr Webster…’ Hope said, her voice trembling. ‘Please don’t make me tell. It was all my fault. I asked her to do it.’

Neal and Sara looked at each other once more. This wasn’t quite the version Hope had confessed to but it was easy to see that Hope didn’t want to drag Olivia into this mess.

‘I admire your loyalty Hope but you didn’t do this alone’ said Mrs. Hines who had her suspicions. 

Hope and Olivia Mason were besties, had been since kindergarten. They were joined at the hip and Mrs. Hines knew the sum of two plus two – being a math teacher and all.

Hope just stared impassively.

‘I’m responsible for it’ she said simply, stumbling slightly on the word ‘responsible’.

Sara bit her lip to keep from telling what her daughter had shared with them. This was Hope’s confession and she had to let her deal with it as she saw fit. Neal, on the other hand, felt his heart swell at the realization that his daughter was ready to take the fall for her best friend. In his heyday, he would have never ratted out a fellow thief, no matter the pressure. It was an unspoken rule and he’d never once broken it.

‘Well Hope, we do appreciate the fact that you’ve come forward with the truth although what you did was totally unacceptable’ the man said sternly. ‘I’ve discussed it with Mrs. Hines and we both believe there needs to be a consequence for your actions.’

Hope held her breath and waited for the other shoe to drop. She prayed her punishment wouldn’t be too severe. As it was, she already had an extra half hour of math homework to do every night, compliments of her parents.

‘Mrs. Hines needs help after school to clean the classroom and set it up for the next day. You’ll be her helper for the next two weeks. Is that understood?’ the man said, looking very serious.

‘Yes, sir’ she replied, relieved. Although it would be a pain in the ass to have to stay after school, she really liked Mrs. Hines and there were plenty worse punishments she could think of.

‘Mr. and Mrs. Caffrey…’ he said, turning to look at Neal and Sara. ‘Is that acceptable to you?’

‘Perfectly’ Neal said as Sara nodded in response.

‘Thank you for seeing us’ Sara added as the threesome stood to leave.

Hope stood between her parents and added a meek ‘thank you’ as she took both their hands in hers before turning to leave. 

Growing up sure was tough.

WCWCWC

Meanwhile, back in Manhattan, Mozzie and Elizabeth had arrived at Burke Premiere Events and were preparing for their meeting with Heady Eddie. Rusty had called with some good news. He’d managed to fence quite a few of the items Mozzie had entrusted him with and he had an extra $25,000 to contribute to the cause, shaving off another little bit of Elizabeth’s debt. 

El headed to the back of the store and put the kettle on. There was something about a soothing cup of camomile tea that took the edge off a confrontation with a known felon.

Then, she and Mozzie settled down to wait patiently for Eddie to make his arrival.

WCWCWC

Peter had just returned from taking Satchmo out for his daily walk and was about to make himself a sandwich when he heard the doorbell ring. With El at a meeting with a new client at her office, he’d been left to fend for himself. He and Satchmo exchanged looks as the two of them headed to the front door to see who would be so rude as to interrupt ‘sandwich making’ time.

‘Can I help you?’ Peter asked as he opened the door to the three men standing on his front doorstep.

They looked like rather unsavoury types, not dissimilar to the thugs Peter got to rub elbows with every day at work. He frowned as he waited for their response.

‘We’re here to see Mrs. Burke’ said the one standing in the middle.

He wore a striped suit that made him look like a character from one of the ‘Godfather’ movies and he had a thin dark moustache that looked like it had been drawn onto his face. The other two guys looked like hired thugs and once again Peter frowned, wondering what such an odd looking threesome could have to do with his wife.

‘I’m Peter Burke, her husband. Can I help you?’ he asked, suddenly wondering where he’d left his holster when he came in.

‘My business is with _Mrs._ Burke’ the man insisted as he made a move to step into the alcove between the two doors.

Peter instinctively took a step forward to block his way, Satchmo standing menacingly behind him – well as menacing as Satchmo _could_ look.

‘Well, if you have business with Mrs. Burke, then you have business with me’ Peter said with an air of self-confidence. ‘What’s this all about?’

‘Like I said, my business is with Mrs. Burke. Tell her Eddie was here and he’s not very happy’ said the leader of the threesome as he glared threateningly at Peter.

Peter raised his eyebrows in response. He wasn’t about to be threatened in his own home and he stood his ground, watching as the men retreated, going back down the steps towards some big ostentatious town car that had been left idling at the curb in front of the house. He waited until he saw them drive away before closing the door and returning to the kitchen, grabbing his holster and putting it back on before returning to his sandwich making task. He thought better of it and instead of picking up the slice of ham sitting there waiting to be loaded onto the nearby slice of bread, he grabbed his phone to call El.

He didn’t like this one little bit.

WCWCWC

Neal’s mind wandered as he tended to making dinner. Sara was sitting at the table helping Hope with her homework and Liam was playing nearby in the family room as he toiled in the kitchen. He absentmindedly turned the fish over in the searing pan and thought back to his meeting with the Sullivans. 

The mobsters had filled everyone in on their recon and had a surprisingly well thought-out plan to present to the group. This was the first of three thefts they were planning and Neal was impressed with the level of detail they’d provided, obviously having done their homework. As he’d feared, Alex was first up and they would, in fact, be hitting the Dahesh on the coming Thursday night. Their targets were two of the paintings from the Edelfelt collection – the most valuable ones in Neal’s opinion. 

He was now faced with the inevitable. Peter and the gang would be standing by waiting for the theft to be underway before barging in to arrest Neal along with Alex - unless he could find some way of getting her out of the way before the Feds made their appearance. He could always turn his back for a minute while Alex slipped away – there would be two more opportunities to catch the Sullivans in action (unless they insisted on having Alex in on all the thefts). He didn’t want to undermine the bust yet he was concerned about Alex getting caught red-handed and what that would do to her options for walking away from the Sullivans unscathed.

He glanced over at his little family, all of them otherwise occupied, and wondered how he could play both ends against the middle – giving Peter his bust and letting Alex slip out, avoiding capture. He just couldn’t see how and realized, once again, he was caught between his loyalty to the Bureau and to Alex.

Hope let out a joyful laugh at something her mom said and Neal snapped out of his thoughts realizing that above all else, he had to remain loyal to his family.

TBC


	23. Chapter 23

‘Mozzie, where do you suppose he is? It’s quarter after six’ Elizabeth said as she took the last sip of her lukewarm tea.

‘I don’t know. I’ve never known a loan shark to be late when it comes to collecting his money.’

‘You _did_ tell him we were meeting here, right?’ she asked, suddenly second-guessing herself.

‘I didn’t say anything to him about _where_. I thought you did!’ exclaimed Mozzie as the same thought occurred to him.

‘Oh, my God! You don’t think he went to my house, do you?’ El said, in horror.

Just as she spoke, her phone rang and she looked down to find Peter’s name on the screen. And just like that, Elizabeth Burke had the answer to her question.

WCWCWC

It was the last day of Liam’s banishment from his beloved video games and the little guy was milking it for all it was worth. While Hope tried to concentrate on her math and finished licking her wounds, Neal finished up the dishes as Liam sat at the kitchen table with his head down, sighing deeply and loudly, hoping to gain sympathy for his cause.

Neal looked on, feeling sorry for his son, knowing they both had to see it through to the end and he resisted the urge to give in, offering him another option instead.

‘You want to play go fish after I finish the dishes?’ he asked, finally taking pity on his son.

Liam looked up with a smile, the first real one Neal had seen on his face all day.

‘All right, go get a deck of cards and we’ll play in the family room so Hope can finish her homework’ he instructed as Liam sprang to his feet and ran up the stairs on his mission.

‘So, how’s it going?’ Neal asked, turning his attention to his daughter.

She shrugged in response, not bothering to lift her head.

Neal stopped what he was doing and sat down next to her, urging her to look up at him as he spoke.

‘You know, I was really proud of you today’ he said.

That got her attention and she looked up to meet his eyes, blue on blue. She smiled in response, realizing her dad’s disappointment had faded and had been replaced with pride in the way she’d comported herself.

‘You’re not mad because I didn’t tell Mrs. Hines about Olivia?’

Neal took a deep breath before speaking. ’You did what you thought was right. Loyalty to one’s friends is important and let’s face it, if you’d really wanted to keep Olivia from doing what she did, you could have stopped her, am I right?’

She shrugged. ’Yeah. I could have and I didn’t.’

‘Well then, you’re both to blame but I admire you for sticking to your principles and not ratting her out.’

‘She was doing it for me’ she murmured softy.

Despite the fact she had hours and hours of math ahead of her over the next month and that she’d be staying late after school for the next two weeks, she was relieved to have everything out in the open.

‘Want a cookie for dessert?’ Neal asked as he got up to fetch her one from the cupboard.

‘Mom doesn’t like us having dessert during the week’ she reminded him.

He reached into the cookie jar and pulled out an Oreo, holding it out for her. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll take care of Mom’ he said with a wink just as saw Sara entered the room.

‘Actually, I wouldn’t mind one of those myself.’

‘Me too’ cried Liam who was right behind with the deck of cards in his hands.

‘Tell you what’ said Neal as he set the cookie jar on the table. ‘Let’s all have a cookie and we can all play a game of cards before bedtime.’

WCWCWC

‘Hi honey!’ Elizabeth said nervously into her phone.

She had a very bad feeling about the timing of Peter’s call. If Eddie and his buddies _had_ turned up at the house, he could have told Peter everything and then her secret would be out once and for all.

‘Hey El! I just had the weirdest visitors.’

‘Oh, no! Don’t tell me my client showed up at our place instead of here? I’ve been waiting for him for half an hour’ she said, trying to keep her voice even.

But Peter Burke was one smart man and he frowned at her reply as he replayed the conversation he’d just had with Eddie at his front door. That guy was the furthest thing from a client and he waited for El to continue. Instead, there was a long, awkward pause on the other end.

‘Funny, he didn’t look like a client’ he finally said.

Elizabeth giggled nervously. ’I know he looks a little rough around the edges but he wants me to cater his sister’s wedding’ she lied.

Peter didn’t believe a word of it. ‘Do you need me to come down there?’ he asked.

‘No honey, I’m fine. He’s really very nice’ she continued, digging her hole even deeper. ‘He’ll probably make his way here. Don’t worry, I won’t be long.’

Peter reluctantly hung up, totally unsatisfied with the explanation. Something was definitely up and for some reason, he saw Mozzie’s face in his mind’s eye. This had something to do with the little man and he was damned if he wasn’t going to get to the bottom of it.

WCWCWC

Tuesday morning dawned and Elizabeth had somehow managed to placate Peter, at least for the time being. He knew something wasn’t right but El hadn’t been forthcoming with any details so he decided to bide his time and do a little research of his own. He’d managed to snap a quick picture of the visitor as he’d left the night before and the moment he stepped into the office, he texted it over to Jones with instructions to find out if they had anything on the guy. Elizabeth might have a damn good reason for being cagey but he was determined to find out exactly what she was keeping from him.

Back in Brooklyn, Elizabeth prepared to go in to work as she mulled over the events of the previous night. Eddie had shown up minutes after Peter’s call and he was none too pleased with the arrangements proposed by her and Mozzie. He willingly took the cash, announcing that the balance was now $35,000, an increase of 10Gs for his trouble and that they had another forty-eight hours to clear the debt or he would make sure there was nothing left of Burke Premiere Events but ashes, a threat that made El’s face turn the colour of chalk. Just before leaving, one of his thugs had administered a swift and decisive punch to Mozzie’s gut, leaving him hunched over and Elizabeth had tended to her friend before making sure he got home to the safe house ‘du jour’. She was riddled with guilt, both for what she was putting Mozzie through and the lies she was brazenly telling her husband.

She stood by her jewelry box, caressing the heirloom emerald earrings she’d inherited from her grandmother years before. She was running out of options. Mozzie had done more than his share to get her out of trouble and now, she had to step up to the plate and make some sacrifices.

After all, this was her mess.

WCWCWC

‘I’m off to El’s’ Sara announced as she grabbed her book.

Neal studied her face, searching for the lie. 'Have fun, honey’ he called out with a devious smile.

The moment the door closed behind her, he grabbed his phone and dialled Mozzie. ‘She just left!’ he said before hanging up.

Sara thought she was being so devious but two could play that game.

WCWCWC

Throughout her many years as a first rate insurance investigator, Sara Ellis had learned the fine art of tailing a mark - and the equally important art of spotting a tail. She pulled out of their driveway in quiet Prospect Park, immediately noticing Mozzie’s van a few houses down. What was that all about?

She checked her rear view mirror, spotting him three cars back as she meandered down the streets of White Plains. This had Neal Caffrey written all over it. She’d overheard the tail end of a conversation between the two men a few nights earlier and she’d gotten the distinct impression Neal was on to her. Elizabeth might have promised to cover for her but Mozzie had done no such thing. Come to think of it, he attended the book club at Elizabeth’s along with some of her workmates and neighbours. Was he the one who’d ratter her out to Neal?

She checked her mirror once more. It was time to take Mozzie on a wild goose chase in order to confirm her suspicions. She zigzagged up and down the streets, seeing if he would stay with her, which of course he did. Not wanting to be late for class, she pointed the car in the direction of the Westchester Community Centre and watched as Mozzie tailed behind her. She really needed to give him some tips, he’d definitely lost his touch – his skills at shadowing were abysmal.

She walked into the busy centre where courses on everything from bookkeeping to wine tasting were held every night of the week and she glanced at the electronic board outlining all the classes held that night. If Neal was going to be such a snoop, she would have to make it worth his while. Her eyes perused the list of classes, searching for the best bang for her buck. If he was going to sic Mozzie on her, she needed to go for shock value. She finally spotted something that would definitely give her husband pause and, with a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure Mozzie was still following her, she headed up to room 212, a few doors down from her pole dancing class.

Class attendees were settling in on floor mats when she stepped in and Sara searched for a spot where she could blend in without being noticed. With her back to the door, she took out her makeup case and pretending to check her lipstick, she pointed the mirror in the direction of the door and waited for her tail to appear. Right on cue, Mozzie wandered by, glancing into the room before disappearing, ostensibly to report his findings to Neal. Sara waited a minute to make sure the coast was clear and she slipped out, heading three doors down to her pole dancing class.

Under his laid-back veneer, Neal Caffrey was one of the nosiest people she’d ever met. For all the secrets he’d kept in his past, he hated being out of the loop and had a reputation for being very inquisitive. If he wanted to know where she was disappearing to on Tuesday nights, she would give him a little food for thought. It would serve him right for being such a snoop.

‘Sorry I’m late!’ she called out as she opened the class door and settled at her designated pole.

WCWCWC

‘A pre-natal class?’ Neal shouted as he stood in front of Mozzie with his mouth hanging open.

‘I’m telling you. I followed her all the way into class and she went in and settled right in – like she belonged’ Mozzie said, his voice shrill.

‘There’s got to be some kind of a mistake. Are you sure she didn’t spot you Moz?’

Mozzie stared back at his old friend, thoroughly offended.

‘It’s impossible!’ Neal continued as his mind began to wander. ‘First off, she’d never keep something like that from me. And she sure as hell wouldn’t be attending a pre-natal class on her own.’

‘I saw two other women who were on their own…’ Mozzie said defensively.

Neal stood, dumbfounded. There was no way Sara was pregnant and hadn’t said anything.

‘Face it Neal, you knocked her up. Again. And she’s working up the nerve to tell you.’

Neal shook his head, trying to shake the outlandish notion. Either she’d spotted Mozzie and was playing him or… naw, it couldn’t be.

Had he noticed anything different about her lately? Was she more tired than usual, moodier, more secretive? Had she complained about morning sickness? 

His heart skipped a beat. There _was_ that morning a couple of weeks back when she’d thrown up after breakfast but she’d said she had the flu...

WCWCWC

Neal spent the rest of the evening in a haze, trying to make sense of Mozzie’s findings. The kids were tucked in for the night and he waited for Sara to return, determined to get to the bottom of things the moment she returned. Despite the craziness of the notion planted by Mozzie, he was unable to completely shake the possibility.

Sara waltzed in shortly after ten and Neal looked up from the television to get a glimpse of her face. Maybe he’d be able to read something in her eyes.

‘Hey!’ she called out. ‘Kids okay?’

‘Yup, everybody’s safe and sound in bed. How was… book club?’ he asked, studying her demeanour.

She picked up on a look of apprehension in his eyes. Had he bought her little ruse? Granted, the idea that she would be pregnant and not tell him was way over the top and certainly out of character. But if he was going to send Mozzie to tail her all over town, he deserved a little scare and she decided to milk it for all it was worth.

She stood before him, stretching as she rubbed her back - which _was_ sore just not for the reason she’d led him to believe.

‘I’m so tired!’ she exclaimed as she let herself fall on the couch next to him.

He studied her, his mind in overdrive.

‘I’ve been so exhausted lately’ she said with a loud sigh. ‘I’ve got no energy and I’m feeling so bloated!’

She was really selling it and the more she went on, the less he was buying it.

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Is there something you want to tell me Repo?’ he asked with an amused grin.

‘Like what?’ she replied innocently.

‘Like… I don’t know, what it is exactly you’re hiding from me?’

She rubbed her belly exaggeratedly and moaned loudly which turned out to be the last straw. Neal exploded with laughter, tackling her as he threw her down on the couch.

‘Got another bun in the oven huh?’ he teased as he tickled her.

But Sara wasn’t in the mood for a playful tussle and she pushed him away, slapping him across the chest as she glared at him.

‘You had me followed you bastard’ she cried out, instantly changing the mood. ‘How could you?’

‘I didn’t…’ he began, stopping short of outright lying to her.

‘How dare you Neal? I’m not one of your marks’ she said as she stood and hovered over him threateningly.

‘Sara, what is it you’re hiding from me?’ he asked accusingly, as he stood and looked her in the eye.

Sara stomped her foot like a two-year-old, anger bubbling over.  
  
‘Ugh!’ she cried out before she stormed out of the room and up the stairs, leaving him as confused as ever.

TBC


	24. Chapter 24

The little jewelry shop on Pearl Street was quiet when Elizabeth made her way inside, clutching the precious emerald earrings tightly in the palm of her hand. Her mom had given them to her when she’d turned twenty-one, a treasure left to her by her mother before her when she’d hit that same milestone. El was feeling like a traitor not only towards her mom and her grandmother but towards her husband who had no idea the lengths she was prepared to go to in order to get herself out of a situation that was completely of her making. 

She spotted one of the Johnson boys behind the counter and made her way to him, embarrassed about her mission.

‘Good morning!’ she said, nervously.

‘Mrs. Burke! Haven’t seen you in a while’ said Sam Johnson, the eldest of the three brothers.

‘It _has_ been a while. How’s your dad?’ she asked, beginning to relax at the easy banter.

‘Oh, you know... he still insists on coming in every day but he usually doesn’t stay for more than an hour or so’ he replied with a shrug.

‘It’s not easy to give up on our routines’ El agreed as she prepared to place the earrings on the counter before her.

‘What can I do for you today?’

‘Well, I wanted to leave my wedding ring for cleaning and polishing’ she said, removing it from her finger and buying some time before she confessed the real reason for her visit.

‘Sure, no problem’ he said as he took the ring from her and began to prepare a receipt.

She realized she was stalling and she nervously glanced towards the back of the store where the Johnsons sold gently used vintage jewelry.

‘Sam, I was wondering about your vintage section’ she said pointing in that direction.

‘What are you looking for?’ he asked, expecting her to be on the buying end of a transaction.

‘Well actually, I wanted to bring in my grandmother’s emerald earrings for you to sell’ she said, depositing them in plain view in front of the man.

‘Wow! Those are gorgeous’ he said as he reached for his magnifying glass.

Elizabeth held her breath as he examined the earrings, guilt ridden as she realized what her damn pride had reduced her to doing.

He studied the piece of jewelry. ’These are worth quite a bit. At first glance, I’d say about $3,000.’

El looked on, somewhat disappointed; she’d hoped for more. She was looking to make up an important part of the difference still owed to Eddie and these earrings were the most expensive piece of jewelry she owned.

‘Let me just check something’ Sam said as he retreated to the back of the store, ostensibly to check in some catalog of vintage jewelry he kept back there.

Elizabeth began to look around, noticing the beautiful cufflinks in a nearby display. Those bastards had taken Peter’s best pair as they’d rummaged through their house and she looked longingly at a similar pair in the case. What was she doing? This was ridiculous, she thought, feeling like some two bit hustler pawning off her family heirloom. 

Sam finally returned, with a book in his hand.

‘Actually, I could give you a little more’ he announced. ‘Our markup is usually twenty percent but you know, you’re such a good customer...’

His words hung in the air as Elizabeth waited to hear what he would be willing to pay.

‘I could give you $4,500’ he said finally.

‘That would be great!’ she replied, relieved yet riddled with guilt.

‘I’ll cut you a cheque’ he said as he reached under the counter.

WCWCWC

Mozzie spent most of the day rummaging through his storage facilities looking for ways to make some quick cash. He had many items of value, some not easily fenced at a moment’s notice so he concentrated on picking out the stuff he could fence quickly and easily. He usually used someone like Rusty when he wanted to move stuff but he was having trouble getting in touch with the man so he decided to take matters into his own hands. 

He glanced over at a small painting by Emily Carr. He’d won it in a card game against Willie Wright and the guy had been furious when Mozzie had walked out with his treasured painting. Although Mozzie liked the painting and knew it was worth a fair bit, he didn’t have any emotional attachment to the piece and he threw it in with the rest of the loot he’d been piling into the shopping cart he’d wheeled in. Willie might be willing to buy it back, Mozzie thought, as he began to look through his phone for the guy’s number.

They had another twenty-four hours before Eddie came knocking once again and Mozzie wanted the guy gone from his life – and Elizabeth’s – once and for all.

WCWCWC

Neal strolled into the preschool holding Liam’s hand and made his way to the cubbies, helping Liam out of his coat and hat and signing the parent sign-in sheet. He could see Caleb’s dad doing the same and Neal gave him a nod and his best Caffrey smile – kill him with kindness, he thought, despite the situation.

‘Good morning Liam’ Miss Rosalie said, welcoming him to the playroom with a warm hug.

Neal looked down at his son, eyes aglow at the sight of the teacher and he couldn’t help but recognize the look of unadulterated infatuation he saw there. I guess the apple didn’t fall far from the tree after all.

Liam gave his dad a quick hug and ran to meet Jaylen who was playing at the sand table while Neal made his way to Liam’s teacher, wanting to get the lowdown on how things were going.

‘So, everything’s been good this week?’ he asked, smiling down at the pretty young woman.

‘Yeah, he’s settled right down’ she replied. ‘Of course, I’ve been keeping a closer eye on Caleb, so that helps.’

‘Well, Liam’s been doing penance at home so I think he’s gotten the message loud and clear that you can’t use your fists to resolve a conflict’ explained Neal.

‘Thanks, we appreciate it when parents cooperate’ she added, sending him on his way.

Neal walked back to the car, dialling his phone as he went. The heist was scheduled for the following night and he wanted to give Alex a heads up before she decided what to do.

‘Neal, what’s up?’ she answered, her voice sleepy.

‘We need to talk’ he said, curtly.

‘I’ll meet you in the hotel lobby’ she answered.

WCWCWC

Mozzie sat in the Burke kitchen sipping on a Starbucks’ mocha latte and going over the math one last time as El looked on with interest. He’d shown up at her place with the profits from his latest sales including a hefty $10,000 for that Emily Carr painting. El threw in her measly $4,500 from the sale of the earrings and Mozzie could see that that one and only exchange had been harder on her than all of his transactions put together. This whole mess had cost Elizabeth Burke an awful lot – her precious heirloom, her pride, her dignity but thankfully not her marriage or her business. At least not yet.

Mozzie tallied everything up and looked over at El with a satisfied smirk. They’d done it, they had managed to rake up the required $35,000 and he couldn’t wait to throw it in Eddie’s face and have this whole sordid mess behind them. 

‘You know El, there’s still the matter of you coming clean to the Suit’ he reminded her.

Elizabeth looked on, horrified. ‘Wasn’t that the whole point of this, Moz – so I wouldn’t have to tell Peter?’

Mozzie stared at her, waiting for her to draw her own conclusions. This messy situation was just the beginning. If she wanted to keep her business, she needed to make some changes and that meant coming clean to Peter. Despite her resolve, Elizabeth felt emotion rising in her chest and she began to cry at the realization that Peter would have to know sooner or later.

‘El!’ Mozzie said, walking around the island to stand by her. ‘You knew it had to come to this.’

She looked at Mozzie through her tears, his arm firmly around her shoulder. He was right. There was no other way. All that was left was to find the right time and the right words to tell her husband that he was married to a fraud.

WCWCWC

The coffee shop of the Four Seasons Hotel was quiet when Neal walked in. A few tourists finishing up their leisurely breakfast lingered in the small restaurant as he walked over to where Alex sat, waiting.

‘So, are you ready for tomorrow night?’ she asked as he sat, facing her.

‘More importantly, are you?’ he asked right back.

‘Everything is all mapped out for us. They’ve covered the alarm system and the getaway’ she said.

‘That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it’ Neal said, looking intently at her. ‘Peter and the rest of the Harvard crew are going to be waiting for us and the net is going to drop, Alex – and I can’t do anything to help you.'

She glared at him, her lips pursed as she realized he wasn't going to do anything to help her out of this dilemma. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If she refused to carry out the theft, the Sullivans would make good on their threat and if she did, she would be arrested.

‘Neal, you know you could help me if you wanted to’ she reminded him.

He looked around, nervously, not wanting to be overheard and he dropped his voice to a quiet whisper. ‘What exactly do you want me to do, Alex? Lend you my invisibility cloak?’ he asked sarcastically.

‘You could help me with an exit plan’ she said, unappreciative of his sarcasm.

‘No Alex! I will _not_ help you with an exit plan. Look, it’s bad enough I’m sitting here giving you a head’s up.If Peter knew...’

‘What? Are you still under his thumb after all this time’ she shot back, aiming to hurt him.

He glowered angrily. ‘You can think whatever you want. I really don’t care’ he barked back.

She got a disingenuous look in her eyes. ‘I’m sure the Sullivans would love to know about your association with the FBI’ she said, her last desperate attempt at getting his help.

He stood up like a shot, hurt and angry in equal measures. ‘You threatening me Alex? If _that’s_ how you want to play it, fine’ he spat bitterly before turning to walk away.

TBC


	25. Chapter 25

Wednesday morning dawned chilly and cloudy. Winter was most definitely on its way and the weather forecast was calling for periods of snow later in the day. Peter pulled the collar up on his coat and pushed through the throngs of people on his way to work. Even though it had been eight years since Neal had worked full time for the White Collar Division, he still thought of him every morning as he made his way to his office. One of the best parts of having Neal in his life had been their daily walk and talk as they sipped coffee and prepared for their day. Neal’s guard always seemed to be down in those moments and they’d had some of their best discussions as they strolled through the streets of New York.

Peter was still pondering the identity of the men who’d shown up on their doorstep two nights earlier and even though El continued to be evasive, he wasn’t about to let it go. He’d put out feelers to find out who the guy might be and he was hopeful something would come up on his radar. He thought of Neal again, hoping everything would go as planned with the takedown which was just over twenty-four hours away. Neal could handle himself but Peter was still responsible for each of the members of his team and that included Neal. These guys were mobsters and even though this was technically a heist, if things went south, the Sullivans could turn on him in the blink of an eye.

He stepped off the elevator and walked through the nearly empty bullpen. It wasn’t yet 8:00 and except for a few keeners and some of his old-school staff, the bulk of his team didn’t arrive until closer to 8:30. Jones, however, was already at his desk, busy with the business of the day.

‘Good morning Peter’ he said as he glanced up at his boss.

‘Hey, Jones’ he replied, standing before him with his coat on and his coffee in hand. ‘Anything yet on that picture I gave you yesterday?’

‘Oh yeah, I meant to tell you’ Jones said as he began rummaging through the many papers on his desk. ‘I got something.’

He kept digging through the files, coming up with the one he was looking for and handed it to Peter.

‘He’s a small time hustler, does some fencing but he’s got quite the reputation as a loan shark – name of Eddie Pearson’ Jones explained.

Peter opened the file, taking in the mug shot of the guy – it was definitely him. For some reason, Eddie had some business with his wife and the mystery deepened.

‘Thanks Jones’ Peter said absentmindedly as he continued up the stairs to his office.

WCWCWC

Since Sara’s return from her class on Tuesday night, she and Neal had been giving each other the cold shoulder, dancing around each other, annoyed more than anything else: he, that she was keeping something from him and she, that he would have her followed. They’d laid in bed, back to back, brooding, but had woken up as usual, with Neal spread out on his back and Sara curled up against him. They might be pissed off at each other but they had seemingly forgotten to mention it to their bodies. They’d done their due diligence as parents, getting the kids ready for the day and Sara had left for work without the usual playful banter and, to Neal’s chagrin, without the customary kiss goodbye. He hated it when they argued. Maybe he could be the bigger man and try to make amends somehow...

After his brief meeting with Alex, he’d begun to make his way over to the Federal Building. He wasn’t sure just how much he wanted to share with Peter. After all, Alex was most likely bluffing.... most likely. But, if she was sufficiently pissed off, there was nothing Alex _wouldn’t_ do and Neal knew this all too well from his many years of working with the mercurial thief.If she went through with her threat, his cover would be blown, putting him danger of being on the receiving end of the Sullivans’ wrath and that was something he just couldn’t have. 

He found Peter in a similar meditative state when he finally stepped into his office, his best friend staring down at a file, not even noticing Neal standing there.

‘Is that the Sullivan case?’ he asked, snapping Peter out of his reverie.

Peter turned the file he was studying towards Neal as the younger man did a double take. It was a photograph of Eddie, the loan shark and Neal recognized him immediately, thinking back to his conversation with Mozzie.

‘Do you know this guy?’ Peter asked.

‘Yeah, I’ve seen him around. Eddie something or other’ Neal said, nonchalantly.

‘Pearson’ Peter replied as he stood to face Neal.

‘Why are you looking into him?’ Neal asked, worried Peter had been playing connect the dots where Elizabeth was concerned.

After Mozzie’s little confession about Elizabeth’s woes, Neal had decided to stay out of the situation. After all, Mozzie seemed to have it handled. Now, he was wondering if he’d done the right thing.Maybe he should have ratted out El to Peter – in the interest of keeping her safe, of course.

‘This guy showed up at our place looking for El the other night’ Peter said, deep lines appearing on his forehead.

Neal just kept a straight face, realizing he wasn’t quite as good as he used to be at doing that.

‘And El’s been really secretive lately. I know something’s up but she keeps insisting that this guy just hired her to plan his sister’s wedding’ said Peter, his voice dripping with skepticism.

Neal just frowned at the notion. Peter was a smart guy and he knew that when he smelled a rat, he never let go until he got what he needed. He decided it was best to just change the subject.

‘So, everything seems set for tomorrow night’ he said, diverting the conversation to the upcoming heist. ‘They’ve got us a van and a driver and I’ve been handed the layout for the security system. It shouldn’t be a problem.’

‘Just be careful, Neal’ Peter warned. ‘These guys play for keeps.’

Neal gave him a roguish smile, attempting to keep Peter off the trail of deception he was leading him down. He would find a way to deal with Alex... somehow.

WCWCWC

Sara sat at her desk, doing a poor imitation of an insurance investigator at work, as her thoughts returned to Neal. Maybe she was being too hard on him. She couldn’t really blame him for being curious. Technically, she _had_ lied to him about her whereabouts and she knew that she would be none too pleased if the tables were turned and he had deceived her. Still… having Mozzie follow her? Really?

She picked up her phone and had just texted a single word followed by a little heart emoticon when the door to her office opened and her assistant walked in carrying a gorgeous bouquet of orchids which she placed right in front of Sara with a twinkle in her eye. Jenny knew her boss well. These were her favourite flowers and she knew that Sara had a most thoughtful husband.

‘Special occasion?’ she asked, curious.

Sara stared at the bouquet and sighed. Oh, Neal Caffrey, what you do to me…

WCWCWC

Neal glanced at the screen on his phone and smiled at Sara’s apology. He hoped she’d liked the flowers. They’d cost a fortune but putting a smile back on his wife’s face was priceless. He continued to his destination, parking directly in front of the little house on DeKalb Street. 

‘Neal, what are you doing here?’ Elizabeth asked, surprised to find him standing there at noon on a Wednesday.

‘I just happened to be in the neighbourhood’ he lied with a cunning smile.

She let it go even though she didn’t believe a word of it. ’Come on in, I’ve got some coffee on’ she said as she led him into the kitchen.

Once settled across from each other at the kitchen island, Elizabeth finally began to relax. Every time someone knocked on the door these days, her blood pressure would skyrocket and seeing Neal standing there had been a welcome relief.

‘Look, Elizabeth, I’ll be honest. Mozzie and I had a little chat the other night’ he admitted sheepishly.

El’s eyes stared down at her coffee cup, embarrassed.

‘He was just letting off steam’ he said. ‘And before you ask, nobody else knows, not even Sara.’

She looked up and forced a smile but he could see tears forming in her eyes. 

‘So I guess you know, I’ve made quite a mess of things’ she said, her voice quiet.

He reached out and pulled her chin up, forcing her to look at him.

‘You’re looking at THE expert at making messes’ he said with a kind smile.

She shrugged as tears began to spill onto her cheeks. ‘I just can’t believe I’ve dug such a hole for myself. Peter would be horrified...’

‘Peter is worried about you’ Neal interrupted. ‘He loves you and all he wants is for you to be happy... and safe’ he added.

‘How can I tell him that I’ve made a mess of my business? I wanted him to be proud of my accomplishments.’

Neal chuckled. ‘Are you not in the room when he goes on and on about your amazing business, how you’ve built it up from the ground up, the incredible reputation Burke Premiere Events has and the wonderful work you do?’

‘That’s just it. All that’s going to disappear’ she said tearfully.

‘It doesn’t have to. Look, Mozzie tells me that once this debt is paid off, you just need to get on an even footing, make some adjustments and move on. Nobody needs to know about this bump in the road’ Neal said, taking her hand in his.

Elizabeth smiled through her tears. At the moment, she couldn’t see much beyond the immediate hurdle but Neal was right, if she just made the right choices, things could be salvaged. She just hoped her relationship with Peter could withstand such a deception.

‘I have to tell Peter’ she finally admitted, as much to herself as to Neal who sat there, nodding.

‘How are you doing with the money?’ he asked. ‘If you let me talk to Sara about it, I’m sure we could help.’

‘No, no. We’re good. Mozzie’s been amazing through all this and we’ve managed to pull together the cash we need. We’re handing it over to Eddie tonight and then, I never want to see or hear from that creep again’ she said, the fighter in her returning.

‘That’s the El we all know and love’ Neal said as he stood to leave. ‘You give him hell and then you walk away with your head up high.’

Elizabeth walked Neal to the door, giving him a warm hug and watching as he climbed into his car. She felt an unexpected surge of energy and determination. She would find a way to weather the storm. Right now, she was more concerned about how to break the news to Peter. She returned to the kitchen, realizing that a good home cooked meal had to be part of the solution. Peter always did better on a full stomach. She reached for her recipe book. This called for some baking, maybe even an apple pie. 

TBC


	26. Chapter 26

Hope sat at the kitchen table, reviewing things once again. The final math test was just a few days away and she’d been feeling more and more confident as time passed, thanks to the tutoring from her best friend Olivia and the support of her parents. 

The front door opened and she heard her dad’s voice as it echoed through the house.

‘I’m home!’ he called out as he sailed into the kitchen, stopping to place a small kiss on his daughter’s head and wave to his son who was watching television nearby.

The place smelled amazing, garlic mixed with basil and he looked curiously over to where Sara stood making dinner – a rare sight indeed.

‘Hi honey’ she said as she turned to welcome him with a kiss, not a mere peck on the cheek but a real, honest to goodness kiss smack on the lips.

So domestic... so wifely... so warm and welcoming... so NOT Sara Ellis. Was that an apron she was wearing?

‘Hi’ he said, slightly hesitant but nonetheless pleased that the cold war seemed to be over.

‘It smells amazing in here’ he added as he took the lid off the pan on the stovetop, taking in the aroma of béchamel sauce perfumed with garlic and spices, his own exclusive recipe which his wife had apparently followed to the letter.

‘Thought you might enjoy your signature linguine with clam sauce’ she said with a warm smile.

‘That must have been a hell of a bouquet’ Neal said, as he gave his wife a friendly pat on the bum.

She wagged her eyebrows in agreement and returned to the task at hand.

‘Yuck! Clams!’ Liam whined as he stood to make his way to the kitchen. ‘I hate clams!’

‘Don’t worry, honey. I made some chicken for you guys’ said Sara, not missing a beat.

‘So, just a few days until the big test, huh?’ Neal said, grabbing a glass of wine from the open bottle on the nearby counter and settling in next to his daughter.

She nodded with a confident smile. ‘I think I’m ready’ she said proudly.

Although Hope had hated doing the extra half hour of math every night, it had most definitely paid off.She was feeling confident as the test approached and she was able to rhyme off her multiplication tables in any order her parents threw at her.

‘Six times eight’ Neal called out, trying to catch her off guard .

‘Forty eight’ she replied without hesitation.

WCWCWC

Back in Brooklyn, Elizabeth Burke was putting the finishing touches on her own gourmet meal, ‘gourmet’ being a relative term considering the dinner had been designed with Peter Burke in mind. On the menu were cheeseburgers with homemade beefeater fries, some coleslaw, a couple of beers and to top it off some freshly baked apple pie à la mode. She was just finishing rolling out the dough for her pie top when she heard the door open and she ran to greet her husband, rolling pin still firmly in hand.

‘Honey, you’re early’ she called out breathlessly as she ran towards the front door.

Peter saw her coming, brandishing the rolling pin and ducked instinctively. ’Whoa!’ he shouted.

Elizabeth hugged him hello, letting the implement fall to her side. ‘I was just finishing up one of your favourites.’

‘It smells great!’ Peter said as the memory of his recent dream faded.

‘Why don’t you go on up and change and I’ll stick the pie in the oven’ she said as she gave him a warm kiss on the cheek.

Wonderful Mozzie had suggested she stay home and feed her husband and leave the odious task of meeting with Eddie the loan shark to him. Frankly, El had been relieved not to have to see the thug’s face again and she had readily agreed to Mozzie’s offer, thanking him again for all his help. She owed him big time.

She’d been fussing all afternoon, trying to come up with the best approach to confessing her sins to Peter and she’d decided the best solution was to be direct, to start at the beginning and tell him what had led her to make the poorly thought out choices that had culminated in this most unfortunate situation. She could hear him in the distance, whistling, as he started back down the stairs and she took one last gulp of air and crossed her fingers.

WCWCWC

‘Pleasure doing business with you’ said Eddie as he took the envelope from Mozzie.

Mozzie wished he could say the same… better to keep his mouth shut and end this ordeal once and for all. He’d suggested they meet at a bar in Lower Manhattan; he didn’t want to be in a secluded location where the thugs could have another go at him. He was still reeling from that blow to the stomach he’d suffered two days earlier and he wanted to avoid a repeat at all costs.

‘If you have any other clients for me, send them my way’ said the loan shark with a smirk, as he stood to leave, his two thugs on either side.

‘I’ll be sure to do that’ replied Mozzie in a strong voice that belied his quivering insides.

He watched as the trio left the bar and once he was certain they were gone, he took a large gulp of the triple brandy he’d ordered for himself and followed them out into the night.

His next stop was Johnson’s Jewellers.

WCWCWC

Peter pushed away from the table, feeling like he might burst. He’d overindulged in El’s amazing meal and he was already regretting stuffing in that extra large piece of apple pie. Elizabeth had toyed with the idea of confessing while they ate but she hadn’t had the heart to interrupt her husband’s enjoyment of the feast she’d prepared for him. Now, as they sat, face to face with a cup of tea, there was no escaping the inevitable.

‘Honey…’ Peter said as he put his hand on his stomach ‘That was amazing!’

‘I’m glad you liked it’ she said, not quite looking at him.

‘And now, you’re gonna tell me what’s going on’ he added, without missing a beat.

‘Is it that obvious?’ she asked, finally letting her eyes meet his.

He raised his eyebrows in response. ‘Does this have anything to do with that thug who showed up here the other night?’ he asked.

Elizabeth was relieved Peter had raised the subject and she nodded tentatively. ‘Yes… it does. But I guess you’ve figured that out already.’

‘Well, you _have_ been acting a little strange the last few weeks. I figured you’d tell me what was going on eventually’ he said, moving back from the table.

‘Honey, I did something very stupid’ she blurted out. ‘...and then, I followed it up by doing something even more stupid.’

‘El, it’s me’ Peter said, reaching over the table to take her hand. ‘How bad can this be?’

‘Pretty bad’ she said simply.

He cocked his head, waiting for her to continue.

‘That man, Eddie... he’d a loan shark’ she confessed.

Of course, this was no surprise to Peter but he let her continue without interrupting.

‘And a couple of years ago, Mozzie introduced me to him because I needed a loan for the business.’

‘A loan? What for?’ Peter asked, taken aback.

‘I had exhausted my credit at the bank and ... well, things were slow and I needed to...’ El began, sidestepping the real issue, which was her inability to properly manage the business’ finances.

Peter sat and listened, frowning although El couldn’t tell if it was out of concern for her or in judgement of her poor financial skills.

‘Anyway... I didn’t want to ask you to invest our _own_ money so I... I turned to this guy…’ she admitted.

‘What the hell was Mozzie thinking, introducing you to a loan shark’ he blurted out, his voice angry. 

‘Honey, no. Please, listen to me. Whatever you do, _don’t_ blame Mozzie. He’s been amazing through all of this’ she said, coming to her friend’s rescue.

Peter responded with a look of despair – despair at her naiveté where Mozzie was concerned.

‘I know he’s not perfect. He’s a paranoid, sneaky little man. But he has a heart of gold and I trust him, honey, I really do. He would never do anything to hurt me – or you for that matter – and I swear, he didn’t lead me down the garden path. Actually, it was the other way around.’

Peter waited for her to continue.

‘Anyway, I begged him for his help and he tried to warn me that these ... people... could play rough.But I really wanted to do this on my own, Peter, and now, I’ve really messed up.’

Her voice was shaking, tears rising unbidden in her eyes and Peter could see his wife was so very upset – something he simply couldn’t bear. He got up to move closer to her, pulling up a chair and putting his arm around her as she continued to look ahead, tears now running freely down her face.

‘Honey, please’ she pleaded, resisting his comforting arms. ‘Let me get this out.’

Peter sat back, his arm still on the back of her chair, ready to scoop her up in his arms at a moment’s notice.

‘So he introduced me to Eddie who gladly lent me $100,000’ she continued as Peter let out a gasp at the enormity of the loan.

‘... and things were okay for a long time. I made regular payments and then last month, I realized I just didn’t have the cash and I needed to get some help’ she finally admitted, getting to the crux of the matter.

‘Honey, why didn’t you tell me? We could have worked it out, together, like we always do’ Peter said, genuinely hurt.

Elizabeth was sobbing now at the realization that she’d made one bad decision after another. Of course, this wonderful, loving man would have been at her side – if it hadn’t been for her stupid pride.

‘I know that now but I was too embarrassed to tell you. You were so proud of me, of Burke Premiere Events and every time you would tell someone about how wonderful my work was, I... I just felt like a fraud.’

‘But you _are_ wonderful and you do wonderful work – you have dozens of satisfied customers’ Peter said, rubbing her back gently as he spoke.

‘I know. But the truth is, finances isn’t my thing and I didn’t want to admit that – to you or to myself’ she confessed.

‘Honey…’ Peter said, his voice soft and loving. ‘You can’t be good at everything. Look at me, if you weren’t here to help me, I’d probably be going to work in the same old suit every day.’

She smiled through her tears. As it was, he pretty well went to work every day wearing the same old suit despite her help.

‘So, this guy wants his money’ he said, returning to the saga.

‘Yes, and because I couldn’t make a payment, he called in the whole loan with interest.’

‘I don’t think you can call what these guys charge interest, honey. It’s extortion’ Peter explained.

‘Regardless, it’s my own fault for getting myself into this mess’ Elizabeth whimpered.

‘So, how much do we owe?’ he asked.

She smiled at his use of the word ‘we’ – after all, she should have known all along, it was always about the two of them.

‘Nothing. Mozzie got the money together. Honey, he sold a whole bunch of stuff just to get me out of this mess.’

Although Peter was pleased to know Mozzie had her back, he couldn’t help but reflect that that ‘stuff’ was likely ill-gotten goods in the first place and he cringed at the thought. But he managed to keep that musing to himself, instead choosing to scoop his wife up into his arms to comfort her.

‘I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for the mess I made but I’m mostly sorry for having kept this from you all this time’ El sobbed into his shirt.

‘Oh, El. Don’t you know by now? We’re in this together. Your problems are my problems’ he whispered in her hair as he held her close.

And in that moment, Elizabeth Burke had learned a most important lesson. Trust and love know no boundaries.

TBC


	27. Chapter 27

Thursday rolled around and as the bewitching hour drew nearer, Neal began to feel more and more anxious about what was about to transpire. Alex was still hell-bent on carrying out the job she’d been tasked with and Peter was poised to break in and arrest those ‘thieves’ at the Dahesh as soon as Neal gave the takedown phrase. It wasn’t his problem, really. But he knew Alex was hoping he’d cave in at the last minute and do something to keep her from getting arrested. 

They were standing in the small office in Brooklyn, going over the plans for the heist one last time.Shawn Sullivan was presiding over the meeting, with a newcomer named Hughie nearby and Alex standing next to Neal as they all studied the layout of the museum’s prep room and its security system. Hughie was their driver and his job was to be ready for the getaway the moment Neal and Alex emerged with the two targeted paintings. It was to be a quick and dirty job – disable the alarm and be in and out in less than five minutes.

The security system was well known to Neal, a typical RFID protection system he’d dealt with many times before (certainly many more times than Peter could have ever suspected). He was concerned that Alex might make a run for it – maybe even run _from_ the Sullivans with the loot, which would definitely put her in even more peril. He had to keep her nearby and not cave in to those pleading eyes of hers. After all, he’d been more than honest with her as far as the consequences of the heist were concerned. She hadn’t yet acted on her threat to out him and frankly he would have been surprised if she had – there was a big fat line you didn’t cross in the criminal world and ratting out your associates was a line you didn’t cross.

They went over the timeline one more time. The two targeted paintings had arrived in New York and were in the prep room, already framed, having arrived in crates from parts unknown. That was always a little trickier than a painting that could be rolled up into a tube and carried out on your shoulder but Neal had stolen framed paintings plenty of times and it had never posed a problem. The fact that Hughie would be right outside with the motor running made things a lot easier. Neal shook his head at that last reflection – old habits died hard. He seemed to be momentarily forgetting that the targeted items would never make it out of the building and into the van if he did the job he’d been assigned to do by the FBI.

WCWCWC

The small noise at the front door made Elizabeth jump. The whole episode involving Eddie had left her rather skittish and she hoped that, with time, she wouldn’t react so much every time she heard an unfamiliar noise in the empty house – especially while Peter was out on a case as he was on this Thursday evening.

She made her way to see what the sound was, followed closely by Satchmo, who was even more attentive than before. She glanced briefly at the new lamp Peter had given her as an early Christmas gift and she ruffled Satchmo’s head in silent thanks – it was much prettier than the one he’d accidentally broken. 

She could see a small package sitting on the front stoop as she peered out and she opened the door cautiously, looking up and down the street to see if there was anyone lurking nearby. Once she was satisfied, she bent down to pick it up and brought it into the kitchen, setting it down on the island to stare at it for a moment.

She brought the small package to her ear (the by-product of living with an FBI agent all those years) and hearing nothing ticking, she shook it gently in an attempt to guess at its contents. She finally gave in to her mounting curiosity and opened the box, no name, no postmark just a brown cardboard box.Her eyes widened at the sight of its contents: two smaller boxes with the Johnson Jewellers label on them. Could this be another early Christmas gift from Peter? 

She opened the first box and let out a gasp at its contents. Inside were her grandmother’s emerald earrings with a note attached that read: _‘These could only be worn by you, El’_

The only person who knew about her having to pawn the earrings was Mozzie and she was suddenly overcome by the conman’s thoughtfulness and generosity in getting them back for her.She hadn’t told Peter about what she’d been forced to do. Giving up the earrings had been a part of her penance and she’d accepted that the loss of the cherished earrings would remain a reminder of the poor choices she’d made.

Which left the second box, similar in size and weight. She carefully opened the package and was bowled over by its contents – a pair of cufflinks, very similar to the ones that the thugs had taken from their bedroom. They were not identical but they were close enough to fool the likes of Peter Burke who would never know the difference.

She thought of Mozzie and his huge heart, unable to watch someone he cared about suffer. She owed him big time and she hoped that, over time, she would find a way to make all this up to him somehow.

WCWCWC

The drive over to the Dahesh was short and uneventful as Neal and Alex sat in the back of the van, dressed in their cat burglar outfits.She’s barely said two words to him and he could tell she was still pissed off– the second woman to give him the silent treatment in the past twenty-four hours. They arrived at their destination just after 10:30. The place had been cased thoroughly and although some of the staff had been working until 8:00 or 9:00 to get ready for the upcoming exhibition, no one had been spotted after 9:00 in over a week. Their driver stopped a block away and as they drove past, Neal spotted the Municipal van and gave Alex a furtive glance to see if she’d noticed it. She seemed to be deep in thought, unaware of her surroundings. He thought of Peter, Jones and Diana waiting nearby for the takedown phrase, ready to barge into the museum to catch him and Alex red-handed and he sighed as he wondered once again how this would all play out.

The staff entry into the back of the museum was frankly a joke and Neal made quick work of picking the lock, wondering how a museum with such precious treasures could have such a sloppy loophole in its security. Of course, there was the security alarm to contend with and Neal knew he had all of forty-five seconds to deal with it before it triggered an alarm, not much of a challenge for someone with his experience. He’d played a little game with himself throughout the years and, although he was sorely out of practice, he was eager to try to beat his own personal best of twenty-three seconds to disarm an RFID system. He’d kept mental notes of all his ‘best’ times at hacking security systems and back when he was cruising museums for a living, he’d tried to best his time with each venture.

Alex made her way to the holding room to begin to search for the two very specific pieces ‘requested’ by the Sullivans as Neal toiled nearby at the security panel, just out of sight. He checked his watch as he finished up, noting a time of thirty-four seconds, quite disappointing in fact, and he made his way into the prep room. He’d been there twice over the past few years, not as an intruder but with Peter when the museum had requested the Bureau’s help with nocturnal visitors and he quickly took in the lay of the land, noticing that the Edelfelts were tucked together in a corner, four or five of them immediately visible.

‘Any luck?’ he whispered to Alex who was rummaging through looking for the required pieces.

‘No. And there are some unpacked crates over there’ she replied as she kept rifling through the paintings nearby.

‘Here’s one’ Neal said as he pulled a painting out of a crate. It was a piece called ‘At the Piano’ which Edelfelt had painted in 1889. It was part of someone’s private collection and had been lent to the Dahesh for the duration of the exhibit and Neal noticed that the crate had been shipped from Dubai.He carefully pulled it out of its packaging all the while trying to keep an eye on Alex. He could utter the takedown phrase at any moment but he wanted to wait until they had located both paintings and were on their way out. That way, they could also bring Hughie down and lean on him for information.

The second coveted piece was ‘A Child’s Funeral’ and Neal had been going through the remaining crates for about a minute when a loud beep was heard coming from the entrance where the security system had been disabled – or so he thought. He gave Alex a cautious glance as the sound was heard once again and then a third time, intermittently every five or so seconds.

‘Keep looking!’ he said as he made his way back to their entrance point to figure out what had gone wrong.

Neal pulled out his flashlight and began to examine the wires he’d just cut a few minutes before noticing the red wire, although cut through, was still connected causing the disruptive noise. Damn it Caffrey, you’re getting sloppy, he thought as he pulled the wire apart and ran back inside the room.

‘It’s okay...’ he began, suddenly realizing he was standing alone.

‘Al..?’ he began to say to no one there, careful not to say her name. He sure as hell didn’t want Peter on his case, wondering if he’d been in collusion with the thief all along. He knew the Harvard crew was waiting nearby, hearing everything that was going on.

‘Damn it’ he said out loud. ‘She’s gone’ he said for Peter’s benefit.

‘I’m going to have to go through with this’ Neal continued as he began to search for the second painting, finally locating it. 

Somehow Alex had found her way out, taking the first painting with her.

WCWCWC

‘You went off script!’ Shawn Sullivan shouted as Neal entered the rented office with Hughie in tow.

They had made their way back to their starting point and Neal was somehow not surprised to find Alex standing there with the stolen goods in her hand. She’d somehow managed to elude the takedown she knew was imminent by making her own getaway plans. Although Neal was pissed off that she’d pulled the wool over his eyes, he was nonetheless impressed by her creativity. She’d done what he couldn’t or wouldn’t do – she’d fulfilled her contract with the Sullivans _and_ managed to elude the FBI.

‘Look, you wanted the painting, I got you the painting’ Alex answered animatedly as she placed the stolen item in front of him ‘Now, I’m done. I’m leaving town.’

Shawn Sullivan watched wide-eyed as she walked out of the small office in a huff, eager to get away as soon as possible. She smiled knowingly at Neal on her way out, slowing briefly to give him a small hug and winking at him.

‘What happened, Caffrey?’ Sullivan said as Neal made his way further into the room.

‘There was a screw-up with the security system and when I came back into the room, she was gone’ he explained, fully realizing that Alex had pulled one over on him.

‘Well, we’re paying you to keep an eye on things – she could have left with that thing’ he replied angrily.

Neal put on his conman face and gave Shawn Sullivan a cocky smile. ’I’d say, all in all, it was a successful foray, wouldn’t you?’ he said, pointing to the two paintings nearby.

‘In and out in five minutes… Mission accomplished’ he added.

Sullivan glared at him, unhappy that things hadn’t gone according to plan, yet relieved that the heist had resulted in nabbing the two paintings they’d soon be fencing to eager customers. 

Neal smiled nervously – this thing wasn’t over yet.

TBC


	28. Chapter 28

Peter and Neal sat at the kitchen table of the Caffrey home. It was late, well past everyone’s bed time and they were discussing what had gone wrong with the takedown. Peter took a long slow pull of his beer and waited for Neal to answer his very pointed question. The agent was no fool and as soon as he’d heard that female voice as he sat in the van, he’d known who they were dealing with.

Neal looked uncomfortable, knowing full well he had to come clean. He put off the inevitable by taking a fortifying sip of his glass of wine.

‘Yes’ he answered simply. ‘It was Alex.’

‘I knew I recognized that voice!’ said Peter, his voice triumphant. ‘Damn it Neal!’

‘Look, she came to me about a week ago and told me that the Sullivans had some evidence of her carrying out a heist in Miami. They used that as leverage to get her to do this job in New York’he explained, seeing the look of disappointment in his partner’s eyes.

‘And you didn’t tell me’ Peter stated, amplifying his dissatisfaction.

Neal looked down, avoiding Peter’s eyes. ‘It’s not that simple, Peter.’

Peter waited for more of an explanation.

‘She was desperate. At first, I didn’t connect that she would be working for the Sullivans. She wanted my help in casing a target and working with her on a heist. I told her **no** , in no uncertain terms and when I finally found out that the mob family she was talking about was the Sullivans, I told her I was working the case and that she’d get caught if she went through with it’ he said, his voice soft in the quiet house.

‘So you gave her a heads up. Why didn’t you tell me?’ Peter asked again.

‘Peter... I know it’s hard for you to understand but just like the FBI has a code of ethics, thieves have a code of honour too. Alex and I have a history... I didn’t want her to... I wanted to make the bust but try to keep her out of it.’

‘So you _let_ her sneak out?’ Peter asked, hoping he was wrong. He had confidence in Neal and his ability to do the right thing.

‘NO!’ Neal said loudly. He heard his voice echoing in the empty kitchen and caught himself. ‘You have to believe me, I had already told her I wasn’t going to do anything to help her. The only thing I did was warn her that the FBI was on to the heist.’

‘Look, you have to believe me’ he continued, his thoughts turning to Liam. ‘I had to have a talk with Liam this week about... my past’ he aid, his face growing sad.

Peter looked on, sensing the emotion in Neal’s voice.

‘Some kid at preschool told him I was a criminal and that I’d spent time in jail and Liam punched the kid.’

Peter couldn’t help a small smile at the combativeness of his nephew and his desire to defend his father’s honour.

‘So, I had to give him an abridged version of my criminal past…’ Neal continued, his voice growing quiet.

Peter could see that having to come clean to his little boy had been hard on Neal and suddenly, he wasn’t quite so angry.

‘... and I realized more than ever that my family’s the most important thing in the world to me. I wasn’t about to do anything illegal just for the sake of some relationship that no longer means anything to me.’

He looked up to see Peter’s reaction, noting a softening of Peter’s face as the agent took another sip of beer.

‘But Peter… I just couldn’t turn her in’ he said. ‘I had no idea she was going to pull this stunt.’

Peter took a deep breath. ’You realize you’ve impeded an investigation’ he said in his most official voice.

Neal nodded. Of course he knew. But he’d been walking a fine line and he felt he’d done the best he could in the situation.

‘So tell me exactly what happened’ Peter asked, open to hearing the rest of the saga.

‘We’d just started to look around the prep area when something went wrong with the security system and so I left to check it out’ Neal explained.

Peter listened intently. He'd heard all that through the listening device Neal had been wearing.

‘When I got back I realized she’d made a run for it. She was back at the meeting point when I got there and she was carrying one of the paintings, fulfilling her contract with the Sullivans. She left and I don’t think she’s coming back.’

Peter ran his hands through his hair, frustrated at the botched job yet understanding what had happened and why.

‘So, we’re going to have to do all over again’ he said, disappointed.

‘Regretfully’ Neal agreed. ‘They’re targeting the Brooklyn Museum tomorrow night and they’ve got me working with another guy, name of Eccles. I don’t know his first name.’

‘And you’re sure you don’t have any allegiances with this Eccles guy?’ Peter asked, only partly joking.

Neal rolled his eyes at his best friend’s attempt at humour.

‘All right, then’ Peter said, getting to his feet. ‘Get some sleep, we’ve got another big day tomorrow.’

Neal walked Peter to the door, totally spent both physically and emotionally. ‘Look, Peter, I know you’re disappointed in me. But I did what I thought was best for everyone involved.’

Peter placed a hand on Neal’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. ‘I know buddy, I know.’

WCWCWC

‘I’m not crazy about you having to do this all over again’ Sara said as they lay in bed the next morning.

He’d filled her in on the events of the previous night, leaving nothing out. No more deceptions.

‘I know.... but I don’t regret what I did. It wouldn’t have been right to tell Peter about Alex’s involvement before the op. I kept hoping she'd walk away.’

Sara sighed. Even after all these years, Neal still struggled with doing the _legal_ thing although she knew he always tried to do the _right_ thing. He leaned over and grabbed the small origami flower he’d found in his jacket pocket before going to bed.

‘What’s that?’ Sara asked.

‘A goodbye note from Alex’ Neal replied as he handed it over to her.

She opened it, noting the message she’d scribbled before planting it in Neal’s pocket the night before.

_‘Good luck with your new life, Caffrey’_ she’d written.

WCWCWC

Friday morning, a snow storm hit and the kids in Mrs. Hines’ class were excited about going out the play in the white stuff. It had taken a while for the seasoned teacher to calm the group of eight-year-olds down but she’d managed to do so with the promise of some free time later in the day if they worked hard to concentrate on the imminent math test.

The classroom was quiet except for the sound of HB pencils gliding swiftly on test papers and this time, Hope Ellis-Caffrey’s pencil was a willing participant in the muted symphony. Hope jotted down one answer after another, feeling confident of her responses. She gave Olivia Mason a furtive look and a small smile as her friend looked on in relief that Hope was looking so sure of herself.

Mrs. Hines circulated in the classroom as she always did during tests, checking that everything was on the up and up. She glanced at Hope’s test paper as she walked by, noticing the young girl’s correct answers and smiling to herself. Hope had worked hard to get to this point and the dedicated teacher had taken advantage of the two weeks when she’d helped her out after school to give her some extra tutoring, just to make sure she was up to the task. She was pleased that the young girl had risen to the occasion, always proud to share in her students’ successes.

The test papers were passed up and Hope let out a long sigh of relief. 

Art show, here I come.

WCWCWC

Friday night brought with it even more snow. The illicit foursome stood in the same place they’d been twenty-four hours earlier only this time Alex was nowhere to be seen, replaced by Eccles and they were all studying plans for the Brooklyn Museum’s holding room.

‘And what kind of alarm system do they have for the backroom?’ Neal asked, hoping for a chance to improve on the previous evening’s poor showing.

‘Same as the Dahesh’ Shawn Sullivan answered. ‘So don’t mess it up this time.’

Neal stared at the mob boss, slightly annoyed. This was why he’d never liked working for anyone in the past. At least when you worked by yourself, there was no one else to give you a hard time – you only had yourself to blame. Neal suddenly wanted this whole operation to be over and done with.The whole situation with Alex had added much too much drama to what should have been a very simple takedown and he looked forward to wiping that smug grin off Shawn Sullivan’s face.

‘Yes sir’ he answered with his patented smile.

WCWCWC

The takedown had been casebook perfect. The three men – including Neal – were arrested and brought in for questioning. Neal was relieved to have it all behind him and he was especially proud to have broken his record at disarming the security system, having gotten the job done in twenty-two seconds, his all-time record.

Hughie had been a long-standing employee of the Sullivan family and was a little tougher to crack but Eccles had sung like a bird, giving details as to who had hired him and proof of the mob family’s involvement. It turned out that Joe Eccles was a very suspicious and manipulative man and he’d taped all his conversations with the Sullivans and willingly shared them with the FBI on the promise of immunity. When Hughie heard, he’d also caved, his fear of the long arm of the law apparently greater than his dread of the Sullivans’ wrath. The DOJ were happy to take over; now that they had something on the Sullivans, they could begin their investigation into the family’s business.

All in all, a most satisfactory outcome and Neal and Peter returned home to their lives and their families and not a moment too soon.

WCWCWC

With the case finally behind them, Neal looked forward to a nice, quiet weekend with his family.Christmas was just a couple of weeks away and he happily spent the whole day Saturday working on bringing his vision to life for the Christmas decorating contest on Meadowbrook Street. Liam and Hope acted as gophers fetching everything Neal needed to make their house the most beautifully decorated on their small street. Sara watched in utter amazement as sexy ex-con Neal Caffrey did his suburban thing. The kids had been exhausted by the end of the day and had both fallen asleep during the movie they’d all snuggled up to watch and Neal and Sara sat, content, on the couch in the family room as they watched they offspring snoozing nearby.

On Sunday, the Burkes had them all over for dinner and Peter seemed to have forgotten about Neal’s indiscretion, welcoming him with a nice firm hug before grabbing Hope, his adored goddaughter, swinging her in the air and delighting in her giggles only to turn around and do the same thing to little Liam.

Neal noticed that Elizabeth was looking much more relaxed than the last time he’d seen her. Although Peter hadn’t said anything to him about El’s situation, Neal surmised that they had somehow worked it out and that she’d come clean with her husband. His suspicions were confirmed over dinner when El shared with everyone that she had hired a new financial whiz to help out with the business. She was also visibly relieved to announce that Stephanie Harris’ husband had gotten a job out of state and that Stephanie would be leaving Burke Premiere Events. Neal knew that the inevitability of having to fire one of her esteemed staff had been weighing heavily on El’s mind although she’d known for a while that someone would have to go in order to re-establish a financial balance for the company.

Mozzie had also been invited and Neal observed the way in which El fussed over their mutual friend. She was obviously grateful for the all-important role he’d played in getting her out of the mess she’d been in.

Everyone was in fine spirits, it seemed. Neal looked over at his wife, sitting there looking beautiful and he lay his hand under the dining room table to squeeze hers. She gave him a warm, loving smile in return and he couldn’t help but wonder, once again, what she was up to on her mysterious Tuesday night outings. He’d begun to think, as Christmas drew nearer, that she might be working on some sort of Christmas gift for him but following his aborted little venture at sussing her out, he’d decided to leave it alone although the ‘not knowing’ was driving him nuts.

Oh Neal Caffrey, if you only knew.

WCWCWC

‘I did it, I did it!’ Hope shouted as she ran into the house, finding her parents and little brother already at the kitchen table, preparing to eat. She was holding her test paper up over her head, happily waving it in the air as she ran in to show her proud parents. 

‘A 91! That’s amazing’ said Sara as she took the paper from her hands to examine it, finally relinquishing it to Neal who sat there with a huge smile on his face.

‘Now I can be in the art show. Mrs. Hines said that this gives me a passing grade!’ Hope announced, hopping around from one foot to the other, unable to contain her excitement.

‘First off, get those wet boots off your feet’ said Sara in her usual gruff manner. ‘Oh, never mind, come here!’ she said, opening her arms to give her daughter a big hug.

‘ _Now_ , get those boots off your feet’ she said again, redirecting her back to the front door.

Hope danced all the way to the front of the house removing her coat and boots as she went and returned to her dad’s open arms.

‘I’m so proud of you, sweet pea’ he said, squeezing her tight.

‘This means we all _know_ you can get a 91 when you really try!’ said Sara, teasing her.

Hope glanced at her with a look of concern. She’d unknowingly upped the ante.

TBC


	29. Chapter 29

Christmas had been hectic what with the kids home from school, the craziness of gift-giving, dinners out and having the gang over for Christmas Eve dinner. The Caffreys had finally been enjoying a couple of days of down time when the invitation came from the Burkes for the kids to visit for an overnighter.Of course, unbeknownst to Neal, this was a carefully orchestrated ruse cooked up by Sara and Elizabeth so that Mrs. Caffrey could finally show Mr. Caffrey what she’d been learning on Tuesday nights for the past month. He drew the short straw and drove the kids out to Brooklyn, stopping to pick up a nice bottle of wine on the way back in anticipation of a quiet evening with his wife, watching that ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ trilogy which was playing on channel 2. 

The drive to and from would take a couple of hours, considering El was primed to insist that Neal have a piece of pie before he hit the road while Sara got to work, getting things ready for their private little party. There was the bedroom to set up, the setting for her little performance, and there was the matter of transforming herself from plain old mother of two to sexy vixen. The call came at 8:13, informing her that Neal was on his way back and she scurried with the last of the preparations, checking the bedroom to make sure everything was in place for Neal’s imminent return. 

She could feel butterflies in her stomach, a testament to the nerves she was feeling at thought of the little performance she was about to give. Sandy, her instructor, had commented on her suppleness and flexibility throughout the four weeks of class and Sara had been feeling more than confident while she was surrounded by a bunch of middle-aged women who’d been gyrating to the music just as she was.

But this was different. This was pole dancing with ‘intent’. The intent to seduce her gorgeous husband and bring him to the edge, losing total command of his faculties and relinquishing complete control of his body. Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure she was up to the task.

She thought back to that night a few weeks earlier when they’d gone out to dinner with Peter and Elizabeth and how, after plenty of good Italian red, she’d spontaneously given Neal the one and only strip tease she ever expected to give him in her lifetime. She recalled the look of sheer lust and desire dancing in his eyes as he’d finally given in, pulling her onto the bed as he gave in to his unrestrained impulses.

She could do it again – after all, Neal was always up for a new adventure.

She gave herself one last check in the mirror: black leather bustier making her burst out in all the right places, sheer black stockings and leather garter belt, no panties, stiletto heels, hair mused (on purpose for achange), make-up a little messy. Not bad for a forty-year-old insurance investigator. Neal didn’t know what he was in for.

She’d thought long and hard about her choice of music. What mood did she want to create? Playful? Coy? Flirtatious? Sensuous? Downright dirty? She didn’t want anything that would require her to move too quickly, after all, she wasn’t used to doing her thing in five inch stiletto heels. She’d finally settled on an obvious choice, Marvin Gaye’s Sexual Healing. That way, she could work it nice and slow and let the suggestive lyrics help her along with her seduction.

She heard the front door open downstairs and suddenly, this all seemed like a really bad idea.

‘Sara!’ she heard Neal call from downstairs.

‘Sara?’ he repeated after a few seconds of silence.

‘Up here!’ she finally called out from behind the bathroom door, her unusual yet very seductive reflection staring back at her in the mirror.

She wanted to wait until he was settled before making her appearance and she’d set the scene accordingly. Their bedroom was dimly lit, her pole securely mounted right within his sight line, music playing softly in the background. She’d left a note on his pillow that said:‘Get comfortable and prepare for the ride of our life’ along with a lipstick kiss as a signature.

‘I thought we were going to watch a movie…’ she heard him mumble as he trudged up the stairs.

She listened through the door as he made his way into their bedroom, his footsteps slowing as he took in the unexpected scene, candles burning everywhere, bed turned down, ready for action.

He smiled as he read the note and did as he was told, removing his shoes, socks, shirt and pants, all the while letting his imagination run wild in anticipation of what would be happening around that pole, so prominently displayed in the middle of the room. He kept his boxers on, a modicum of modesty, and lay on his back, hands behind his head, waiting for the show to start, something he hoped would be happening really soon.

‘I did what you asked me to’ he finally called out as he stretched out on the bed, his body taut with anticipation.

He heard the bathroom door open and caught sight of the mother of his children looking so hot she sizzled. His mouth dropped open at the sight of her strutting leisurely into the room, wrapped in soft, buttery leather, her long legs atop a pair of strappy shoes he’d never seen before and her hot little body bursting out of the bustier she’d managed to cram herself into.

He felt his pulse quicken at the sight of her looking so… so… perfectly naughty.

She winked seductively as she made her way over to her pole and latched on to it, crouching down and throwing her head back as Neal sat up, eyes practically popping out of his head.

’So, _this_ is what you’ve been doing on Tuesday nights’ he said, his voice faltering.

‘Surprise’ she purred as she blew him a sensuous kiss and wrapped her long, lean leg around the pole, beginning to sway to the rhythm of the music.

Even with the soft lighting, she could see his face growing flushed as he went from amused to totally captivated, his eyes darkening in lust as he took in the spectacle before him. She bent forward sensuously, her breasts spilling out of the tight bustier, noticing that the arousal visible in his eyes was already making its way down his body and she smiled in satisfaction at the promising response she was getting.

Neal gawked as she gyrated, Marvin Gaye whispering suggestive lyrics in the background - not that he needed any help. His hand instinctively moved down his body, adjusting himself in his shorts.

‘Ah, ah, ah! No touching!’ she admonished with a seductive wag of her finger. 

He moaned in frustration but obeyed, returning his hands behind his head as he kept staring, totally consumed by the sight of her making use of that damn pole in the most creative and indecent ways one could imagine. She slid down slowly, exposing her naked buttocks and Neal felt his breath hitch in response. Emboldened by his reaction, Sara threw in a couple more choice moves and Neal’s reaction did not disappoint, his breathing growing louder, his smouldering eyes growing darker.

She looked over at her husband of over eight years and was delighted with what she saw, his body eagerly giving in to its impulses, losing control as he began to squirm uncomfortably on the bed in blissful anticipation.

‘This song is _way_ too long’ he complained as he finally sat up and reached out for her. She slunk away, avoiding his clutches as he let out a soft moan, falling back on the bed to continue enjoying the show.

‘It’s on a loop’ she teased, her voice sultry as the song started up again and this time, Neal let out a loud groan of frustration. As nice as this was, he was feeling the need to get up close and personal with his private dancer. Giving in, he finally stood and ventured closer to her as Sara put up her hand, warning him to stay where he was.

‘Are you sure you _deserve_ to touch me Caffrey?’ she asked provocatively as Neal bit his bottom lip in a failed attempt to control himself.

‘Yesss’ he said with a hiss, his arms reaching out. ‘I’m sure.’

‘Ah, ah, ah!’ Sara warned, stepping out of his reach once more.

This little game of cat and mouse was much too much fun to rush. Despite her admonition, he slunk in a little closer, running a single finger down her shoulder as he leaned into her ear.

‘You little tease’ he murmured.

She turned to face him, fixing her smouldering gaze on him, her eyes hooded as she spoke.

‘First, you have to get me out of this thing’ she whispered seductively.

‘Okay’ he replied, his voice rough. ‘I can do that.’

Slipping his arms around her waist, he began to explore the garment, feeling for hooks, buttons or whatever the hell was keeping that teeny tiny bustier on her hot little body. His adept fingers bumped up against laces and he slowly made his way around to stand behind her, feeling her shiver under his touch.

‘Here we go’ he said in that soft, throaty voice she knew so well.

The sound of his voice, rough and breathless, brought on that oh so familiar flutter in the pit of her stomach and she squirmed as his deft fingers began to loosen the bustier. He stood behind her, heat radiating off his body as he worked diligently, slowly extricating her from the tight garment as he deposited slow, deliberate kisses on her back with every lace he managed to unfasten. Sara let out a long slow breath as she felt welcome relief and Neal’s hands tugged, releasing her from the garment as it fell to her feet.

‘Nice…’ she heard him sigh in her ear as he reached around, cupping her breasts, his fingers expertly squeezing and pinching in all the right places. She let her head fall back against his shoulder and shuddered, her breathing growing louder and more uneven.

There was still more work to do and Neal let his hands drop to her waist as he endeavoured to remove the garter belt still fastened snugly around her hips. He heard a small noise escape Sara’s lips, a sound he recognized as disappointment at the loss of sensation and she squirmed against him once again as he smiled impishly. He’d begun to unhook the belt when Sara, momentarily regaining her composure, lay her hands on his, guiding them lower to the top of her sheer stockings, urging him silently to start byremoving her shoes and stockings. 

Neal moved to stand in front of her, eyes darting from her eyes to her mouth and down to her luscious breasts as he licked his lips and let out a long slow breath in an attempt to steady himself. Sara lifted her leg, placing her foot on the edge of the bed and Neal got to work, slowly unfastening her shoe, his eyes still riveted on her face as he worked. The sound of her stiletto heels was heard as it hit the floor and Neal’s expert fingers moved up her leg, intent on unfastening her stocking from the garter belt when, to her surprise, he took a naughty little detour, letting his fingers linger momentarily between her thighs, a move that Sara hadn’t anticipated.

‘Don’t…’ she murmured breathlessly, although the warning sounded as hollow as a drum. He let out a muted titter in reply.

He leaned down, brooding eyes still locked on hers as he proceeded to suck on his fingers and he moved in to deposit a soft, lingering kiss on the inside of her thigh before reaching for her other leg and doing it all over again.

Sara brought her arms up around her husband’s neck, running her fingers through his thick hair as he removed the second stocking, stopping momentarily to let his boxers drop to the ground. He made quick work of the garter belt, leaving them both gloriously naked, their bodies rutting up against each other. His lips moved more urgently now, settling on her neck just under her earlobe, his breathing faltering and unsteady.

‘That was so fucking hot’ he whispered against her neck, causing her to shiver.

They fell onto the bed, both giggling at the unlikely little scenario which had just played out as they went from boring suburban parents to hot, sultry lovers. There was room for both versions of themselves and as they fell together in a tangle of limbs, Neal realized that this was the kind of secret he could handle any day of the week.

La fin


End file.
